


Dave's Savior

by YourOnlySenpai



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alcohol, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Bisexual Dave Strider, Canon Era, Canon Gay Character, Canon Gay Relationship, Canon Queer Relationship, Canon Related, Canon Relationships, Childhood Sweethearts, Dave Strider Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Davekat Week, Domestic Fluff, Domestic Violence, Drama, Family Drama, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gay, Gay Character, Gay Male Character, Humanstuck, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, POV Karkat Vantas, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Pesterlog(s) (Homestuck), Photography, Romantic Fluff, Sweet, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Teenage Drama, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-21 00:01:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30013008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourOnlySenpai/pseuds/YourOnlySenpai
Summary: Dave escapes from his abusive home one particularly bad night and runs to Karkat for help.Warning: Mentions of violence, abuse, blood, self-harm, and slight emetophobia.
Relationships: Cronus Ampora & Kankri Vantas, Cronus Ampora/Kankri Vantas, Dave Strider & Karkat Vantas, Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas
Comments: 29
Kudos: 40





	1. One Stormy Night

I was shocked to be able to hear my phone vibrating on my pillow through the booming thunder and pounding rain on my window. Everything was too loud and too much for me and my hands were shaking from the noises. I used to be terrified of lightning as a kid, but now the sounds of the thunder following it were the worst part. It wasn’t frightening, just anxiety-inducing. I rolled my chair back from my desk and reached back, picking up my phone to see a single text from my lovely boyfriend, who I usually would receive mass amounts of messages from all at once.

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 22:46 --

TG: outside

CG: WHAT?

TG: im outside

TG: let me in

CG: WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING OUTSIDE?

CG: IT’S FUCKING POURING.

CG: MY DAD AND MY BROTHER ARE HOME.

TG: look as much as i love going through the rules of avoiding your family because you dont want them to interfere with our private time

TG: i dont care right now

TG: i wouldnt be here if it wasnt important

TG: youre the only person i can come to right now

TG: i need to talk to you

TG: im not safe at home right now so i just

TG: fuck can you just come unlock the door

TG: please

CG: ARE YOU OKAY?

CG: DON’T ANSWER THAT.

CG: YOU’RE CLEARLY NOT.

CG: BE THERE IN A SECOND.

TG: thank you

\-- turntechGodhead  [TG]  ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist  [CG]  at 22:48 --

Something wasn’t right and it was making my heart pound with fear, and possibly a little bit of excitement, having to sneak my boyfriend into my house. It was like the movies!

I grabbed the first hoodie I saw by my door, one of Dave’s favorite ones that he decided to let me keep despite it being his most loved, and flew down the stairs. My brother was in his room studying and my dad was no doubt in bed by now as he worked an early shift at work and was typically in bed by nine. I got to the door and peeked out the peephole to confirm that yes, Dave was in fact here, his hoodie wet from walking in the rain. My heart sank, however. 

_ Is that… a bruise on his cheek…? _

I quickly unlocked and opened the door. I didn’t even get the chance to say a quick “hi” before he threw himself into my arms, burying his face in my chest. His own chest was heaving. Wheezing. 

_ Did he run all the way here?  _

Yeah. Something was horribly wrong.

“Karkat,” he breathed with a sense of relief. His voice was shaking and so were his hands, which were balled up under the hoodie and in my shirt. He was so much taller than me, too, so having him buried in my chest wasn’t new, but it was a little awkward from this height. “Karkat…”

“Hey, I’m here, it’s okay,” I whispered, one hand moving to his hair and the other moving around his shoulders to keep him close. “Jesus, Dave, what’s up with you? Are you okay? What’s wrong with your cheek?”

“Can we go to your room first please?”

“Are you going to let go of me so we can?”

“No.”

“Babe, what  _ happened  _ to you? Let me see your face.”

“No.”

“ _ Dave _ .”

He shook his head into my chest again and I let out a deep sigh. 

“I need you to let go of me so we can go upstairs. I’ll get you some dry clothes and we can talk in my room. You can hold my hand if that makes you feel better.”

“I can’t go back home tonight.”

His arms finally slipped out from behind me and I caught a glimpse of his face. His cheek looked darker, but he was mostly a silhouette for me in the darkness of the entryway. I gave a short nod and held my hand out to him, which he took gratefully.

“I know. It’s okay, I’ll just bribe Kankri to not tell Dad. Actually, I might have to do the opposite.”

“Yeah.”

My concerns were only rising as I noticed his lack of wanting to talk. I knew he wasn’t okay but was he really  _ that  _ not okay? What the hell happened at home? I led him upstairs to my room, even though he knew the way by heart anyway. Once inside, he finally let go of my hand and I shut the door. His breathing was still far too heavy and he wouldn’t stop shaking.

When he lowered his hood and pulled his hoodie over his head, a hand flew to my mouth and tears lined my eyes. I nearly choked on a sharp gasp. 

There was a bruise on his cheek, yes. It was in the early stages of just being red and purple and slightly swollen, but there were slashes along his arms that weren’t the same kinds of cuts he used to inflict on himself before we had started dating. These had been caused by someone else with a much sharper, bigger blade. Likely one of his brother’s swords. His hair was a mess and images of what could’ve happened flashed through my head. His brother pinning him down under his shoe, an explanation for the dark spots of dirt scattered on his once clean, white t-shirt, keeping him there so he could swipe at Dave’s arms and face with one of his katanas, spitting foul insults down at him for literally just existing. I could vividly see him grabbing him by the hair and throwing him up against the wall, continuing with an onslaught of slurs and terrible, terrible words to leave Dave in tears as he fought for his life. 

“It’s been like this for years,” he admitted, looking down. Blood began to trail down his arms and to his fingertips, but he held his hand up a bit before it could drip onto the carpet. Tears were freely flowing down my cheeks now and I couldn’t stop staring, which I knew he hated. “I should’ve said something sooner, but it was always manageable. It’s never been this bad.”

“Dave… Oh my God, I…”

“Do you… have a first aid kit by chance? I don’t want to bleed on your carpet or your bed or whatever. Heh.”

“My brother does, just… Here,” I turned, grabbing a clean black towel that hung off the back of my door. I went over, helping him wipe some of the blood off. “Hold it really tight on the worst ones so they’ll stop bleeding. I’ll be back in just a minute, okay?”

Dave nodded and went over, sitting at my desk for the time being while I ran off to ask Kankri for his first aid kit, which he insisted on keeping in his room since he knew the deeper fundamentals to the more complicated gear in it. I knocked twice before coming in, but what I saw surprised me and made my glassy eyes wide with shock.

Cronus was there, sitting beside Kankri on the bed, kissing him. They pulled away sharply when I entered and a hand went to cover my mouth again.

“Karkat! You should know better than to come barging into my bedroom without waiting for permission from me first! That can be-”

“Kankri, you can give me a sermon later about how horribly I fucked up, but I’m in a rush and I frankly couldn’t give a rat’s ass about Cronus being here at this very moment. I need your first aid kit.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No, but Dave is.”

“Dave is here?! Karkat, you know you aren’t allowed to have your significant other here without our father’s permission! Why is he here?”

“Kankri, if you tell Dad about Dave, I’ll tell him about Cronus. Dave got hurt and I need the first aid kit. Please.”

His tone then softened when he finally noticed the state I was in.

“Wait, are you okay? Are you crying?”

“Just  _ please  _ give me the kit. I promise I’ll give it back in the morning.” I brought my arm up to wipe away the tears that continued to fall. I never cried outside of watching a movie or if I missed Dave (which was rare now that he and I hung out on a regular basis), so for once, he shut his mouth. Kankri left Cronus’s side to get to his desk, where he opened a drawer and pulled out the red and white kit.

“If you need any help, don’t hesitate to come get me. Just wait for a response when you knock next time, alright?”

“Thanks, Kankri.”

As I left with the box, I shut the door behind me and heard the click of the lock. I made a mental note to absolutely kill him if I heard anything sexual, then quickly made my way back to Dave, who was still at my desk. He still had the towel wrapped tight against the worst of the wounds just as I had told him to, his shades on the desk, and his head was tilted up towards the corkboard surrounded by little twinkle lights I had hung up above my desk. There were a few rows of string and hanging from it were photos of us from the past couple of years, some of them printed from my phone and others were polaroids. 

In the very center was my favorite photo from back when I had taken my dad’s car, picked up Dave, and took him on a day trip to the nearest hiking trail. We were both hermits and needed the vitamin D (and no, I don’t mean that to be any sort of innuendo), so I packed up a backpack with food and treats and we hiked for an hour upwards, set up a picnic, and watched the sunset. The polaroid was of us, the sky above us beautiful shades of pink and purple. I had my head resting on his shoulder, a little smile on my face while he was smiling brightly. Actually smiling. He had been in such a good mood that day, and so had I. 

“You have a lot of pictures of us,” he mumbled softly. “I wish I could keep some at my place, but my brother would kill me if he knew I had a boyfriend.”

“I have a whole box of pictures over the last couple of years if you want to look through them. But for now, let’s get you fixed up.”

Dave turned slightly in my chair and nodded. I had him get up first and grabbed him some dry, warm clothes to change into. They were just some of his clothes he had left behind for me to wear, a pair of pajama bottoms and an old band t-shirt. He said that they smelled like me now while bringing the shirt up to his nose and breathing in deeply and my heart leaped in my chest. I offered him the hoodie I was still wearing, but he insisted that I keep it on because I was adorable in his clothes and because I would be that much warmer when he could hold me again. That made my heart  _ soar _ . After that, I had him sit on my bed, facing me. I kept one arm wrapped in the towel while I worked on the other, carefully disinfecting the cuts as painlessly as I could before covering them up. He kept a straight face even though I knew the disinfecting part no doubt hurt like hell. We were silent for a while, but eventually, I spoke up. I needed to know more.

“How long has this been going on, Dave?”

He shrugged just slightly. “Bro was really chill up until I was about seven or eight. I think he wanted to raise me well and then when he realized it was prime time for me to learn how to fight, he flipped. I mean, learning how to fight is good, but I can’t imagine that kicking the shit out of your own kid is a good way to go about it. Wait, I’ve told you that he’s actually my dad, right?”

I shook my head in response but I didn’t really have much of a reaction to the news. It didn’t make that much of a difference and it also wasn’t the most shocking thing I had seen or heard of that night. 

“Yeah, he’s my dad. But he doesn’t let me call him that. Maybe he thinks that if I or others think of him as my brother, then it makes it okay to do what he does. I never really realized what he was doing was wrong until like, six months ago maybe. When I got that concussion.”

“I thought you said that you fell down the stairs.” I looked up to meet his eyes then and he nodded. 

“That wasn’t a lie. I did. But Bro had been the one to push me. We were on the roof ‘training’, as he calls it, and when he said that it was game over, I went to go back down to my room, so he reached out and kicked my knee in from behind me. I fell down maybe twenty steps?”

“Dave…” I breathed softly, not having taken my eyes off his. “Why didn’t you tell me that when I took you to the nurse the next day?”

“Honestly, I didn’t really remember exactly what had happened. I remembered falling, but I had been so busy puking and trying to stay conscious that I didn’t really think about the fact that it was Bro’s fault.”

I let out a soft sigh and started working on his other arm. I tossed the towel off to the hamper across the room.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I’m not sure honestly.” He sighed as well, looking down at his right arm that was mostly just bandages now rather than skin. “I think that maybe I was worried that I would become a burden to you and you would be too stressed to want to deal with me. I also didn’t really know how to bring it up, or if it was relevant since there isn’t much you could do about it.”

“Isn’t much I can do?” My head snapped up again. “Dave, if I told my dad the situation, I can _guarantee_ that he would have you stay here. He would go all out and fight for custody and everything if he needed to.”

“He would?”

“ _ Yes _ , Dave. At the very least, he would let you stay over whenever you wanted and however long you wanted. There’s so much we could all do to make sure you’re safe. So much we’re willing to do.” 

I snipped off one last piece of medical tape and secured one more strip of gauze before setting everything aside and reaching up to cup his cheeks, my eyes meeting his again.

“Dave, we all love you so much. My dad and my brother are annoying as all hell when it comes to our relationship, but they love you because they know what you mean to me. And they love you because you’ve formed the same bonds to them that they have with me. You’re a part of  _ this  _ family. Not whatever fucked-up thing your broth- your  _ dad _ , has you trapped in. My dad is your dad. My annoying brother is your annoying brother. Okay?”

I could see tears lining his eyes. He cried even less than I did, but I had seen it once or twice in the past. I stopped letting it faze me and I kept my stern expression locked in place. My thumbs wiped away his tears when they finally began to fall.

“I love you, Kat…” he whispered, one hand coming up to grasp mine. I leaned in then, my lips meeting his for a gentle, loving kiss.

“I love you, too…” I whispered back. “We’ll figure this out together, okay? I’m not letting you go back to that hellhole.” 

I pulled Dave into my chest again in a much more elegant movement, laying back against the headboard and making room for him between my legs. He got comfortable quickly, holding on tight to me as if I would let go of him if he didn’t. 

“Okay,” he breathed into my shirt.

I wouldn’t let go of him.

Never again.


	2. What a Rat

I felt Dave stir in my arms with a soft groan and I loosened my hold on him to give him the chance to move. His arms didn’t let go of me however and he shifted again to get closer, so my arms were right back around him soon after.

The sun was beginning to lighten my room to an uncomfortable level but I was determined to keep him here as long as I possibly could. I couldn’t remember the last time I was able to sleep in the same bed with him for an entire night and wake up in the morning together. It had to have been the camping trip I had brought him to with my family. I had managed to convince my dad to let us share a small tent without the presence of my brother and after a week of pleading, he gave in to my request. That was almost a year ago, however. Other than that, we took brief naps on the couch sometimes.

_ I have so many pictures from that trip…  _

I slipped my hand up from his shoulder to run my fingers through his hair. It wasn’t as soft as I was used to which saddened me a little so I made a mental note to find my dry shampoo for him to use before we had to leave for school. I heard Dave hum happily at the feeling of my fingers gently brushing through.

“Mornin’,” he drawled, a bit of his Texan accent coming out thicker than usual. It was always really subtle, sometimes not even present. After last night, I couldn’t imagine it was easy for him to talk at all, too. The poor boy ran at least two and a half miles to get here. Any strain in his voice was going to be expected.

“Morning, Dave,” I responded as I tilted my head to the side to kiss the space between his eyebrows. He shifted closer. “How’re you feeling?”

“I feel like I got the shit kicked out of me and it’s only now startin’ to ache.” He huffed a small laugh. “But I still feel better. Safe.”

“I’ll get you some Ibuprofen or something.”

Dave nodded and we both fell silent, enjoying each other’s weight. The room got brighter and I could feel him starting to fidget more as his brain finally started to wake up. His legs were moving periodically, undoing its tangle with mine, and his hand traced patterns on my chest. After a while, I couldn’t take the movement anymore.

“Dave.”

“Hm?”

“Do you need to get up?”

“I can’t stop moving.”

“Yeah, I know. Come on, let’s go.” 

He finally sat up with a bit of difficulty, hissing through his teeth when his whole body ached more. I followed him, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and running a hand through my hair. 

“I gotta pee,” I mumbled, barely coherent. It always took me way too long to wake up fully while Dave had little to no issue. His ADHD made him way too hyper way too quickly.

_ And he says he’s not a morning person…  _

“Then go pee,” he said while playfully nudging my side with his elbow. “I ain’t gonna follow you.”

“You’d better not.” My head whipped around to look at him. He smiled, the first one I had seen since he came over, and winked at me. 

“My ass is stayin’ put. Right here.”

“Good.” 

A light blush found its way to my cheeks and I stood, stretching briefly before finally leaving the room. When I came back, I found him sitting at my desk, shades back on, writing something down in one of my notebooks in very sharp, angular handwriting. I could recognize his writing from a mile away.

“Dave, what are you doing?”

My voice made him jump a little and he turned to look at me. My heart dropped a little at the sudden reaction and it hit me then that he was usually so on-edge, even in public places like school, because of his home situation. And yet, everyone viewed him as a cool, very relaxed guy. I finally understood that no, he was only like that in hopes that he wouldn’t get the shit kicked out of him at home and to keep up the facade that everything was okay. 

“Jesus, Kat,” he chuckled. “Don’t sneak up on a dude like that.”

“Sorry. What are you writing?” I repeated the question and approached him, looking over his shoulder, but he quickly closed the notebook with a grin. It was my “secret” notebook, but I had let him look through it before so I didn’t care that he was in it again. He grinned a little. 

“It’s a surprise.”  
“A surprise? Dave, I rarely ever write in that thing but I can always just open it the fuck up. What are you writing?”

“Again, a surprise!” He sang it that time, drawing out the words, and I let it go. He wasn’t going to tell me and I could always just look through it later.

“Okay, dumbass.” I rolled my eyes. “We need to get to class soon.”

“I might just skip, honestly.” His arm reached up and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t think I can retain any information when I don’t have my meds.”

“I’ll take notes for you. You can’t stay here by yourself yet and I’m not about to let you go home to your douchebag of a father. Come on.” I grabbed his forearm and pulled him up from the chair. His eyes met mine as he looked down at me and his lips curled into a smile again. 

“You’re cute.”

“Shut up.”

He leaned down then to kiss my nose and my cheeks went red once again. I was finally able to get him to finish whatever he was writing and got him a change of clothes for our classes. Being in our first term of college, we had picked all of our classes so we could stay together. One might assume that spending all that time together would get annoying, but we never found ourselves getting exasperated with the other’s presence. In fact, it was helpful. We got used to being around each other and were finally able to help the other with anything he didn’t understand. It was a good system for our first term.

When I told him that, while in communication with my dad, that he wouldn’t be allowed to stay the night (he never was and it sucked), he assured me that it was okay and would instead stay with his best buddy, John, who was more than happy to take him in for the night. I felt like a horrible boyfriend for a while, but he took me out to lunch and continuously reminded me that it wasn’t my fault. I promised him that I would have a conversation with my dad as soon as I could. He said that I wasn’t responsible for him and that he could figure things out. I told him that wasn’t an option and that I was going to take care of it.

I needed him with me.

The conversation was dropped after that and at the end of the day, we went our separate ways. We parted with a quick kiss before I finally hopped onto my bus and headed home. Stepping through the front door was different, however. The air felt heavy. When I turned with my back to the front door, Kankri and my dad were sat on the couch, looking at me expectantly.

“What?” I raised an eyebrow. “Am I home late or something?”

_ No,  _ I thought, looking up at the clock hanging above their heads.  _ It’s only five-thirty. _

“Care to explain what Dave was here all night for?” His tone was stern and, well, fatherly, as it should’ve been. It would’ve made my heart sink and fill me to the brim with fear or regret if I weren’t so hung up on Dave and his well-being.

“Oh, I’m actually glad you asked.”

The mild disappointment in his son’s defiance immediately switched into a look of confusion and wonder. I set my bag down by the door and approached them, standing across from them, the coffee table separating them from me.

“So, first of all, Kankri wasn’t supposed to rat me out. He had Cronus sneak in through the window last night.”

My dad’s eyebrows shot up as his eyes widened, his head snapping to face Kankri, who prided himself on obeying rules and never doing a single thing wrong in his entire life. His face went red, along with his ears, but before my dad could scold him, I continued. 

“Second of all, I hadn’t anticipated Dave coming over. But it was kind of an emergency.”

“The only  _ emergency  _ I can think of that warrants breaking your father’s rules in this house is one that only you and Dave would consider an emergency. One that I would prefer you not engage in until marriage.”

“Wait, what?  _ Dad!  _ It was absolutely  _ nothing  _ like that, what the fuck?!”

“Language, Karkat,” Kankri scolded softly, to which I responded by pointing a finger right at him. 

“ _ You’re  _ the one who snuck your boyfriend into the house for sex,  _ not  _ me! You don’t get to talk!”

“That is completely inaccurate! I didn’t sneak him in for such endeavors! I’m no heathen!”

“The sounds Dave and I heard from my room say otherwise, so I would think twice before you-”

“ _ Boys! _ ”

We both quickly pressed our lips tightly together, turning to look at our father. His glare darted between the two of us and he wasn’t ready to just snap at us. He was ready to  _ break _ . We couldn’t blame him. From his point of view, it probably looked as though his only two sons were so desperate to get some dick that they went behind his back and disobeyed his rules when only one of us did that and the other was just being a decent human being. 

_ Ha. Kankri is going to get his ass whooped later. _

“Both of you. Go to your rooms. I’ll talk to you individually.”

“Of course, Father. Kat, let’s go.” Kankri stood immediately at our dad’s words and grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the stairs. He gripped  _ tight  _ and wouldn’t let go, no matter how hard I tried to silently yank it from his grasp. 

I heard our dad mutter something about us sending him into cardiac arrest as we got to the hallway where our bedroom doors were. His and my dad’s were open wide while mine was shut. He then turned me to face him.

“Why would you tell our father all of that?! He doesn’t need to know what Cronus and I do,” he hissed in a hushed whisper, glaring down at me from behind his glasses. I simply scowled right back at him without any fear or remorse, finally freeing myself from his grip. 

“You said you wouldn’t tell him about Dave! I was going to talk to him privately about it!”

“Oh, sure you were. I believe you, Karkat. I truly do.” Though he did genuinely sound sincere, I knew better. I wanted to kick him. I wanted to kick him so badly. 

“What happened with Dave last night is none of your fucking business. So stay. The fuck. Out of it.” I poked his chest and I could see the desire to kick me in his eyes as well. I then turned and opened the door to my room before slamming it behind me, leaving Kankri standing in the hallway, likely fearing our father’s wrath. I still wasn’t afraid, but my argument with him left me fuming. I collapsed onto my bed and pulled my phone from my back pocket, scrolling and tapping quickly with muscle memory to go exactly where I wanted to.

\-- carcinoGeneticist  [CG]  began pestering turntechGodhead  [TG]  at 17:42 --

CG: HEY, DAVE.

CG: ARE YOU DOING BETTER?

CG: YOU’RE ACTUALLY AT JOHN’S, RIGHT?

CG: YOU DIDN’T, LIKE, LIE TO SHUT ME UP ABOUT YOU BEING SAFE?

TG: hey babe

TG: no im at johns

TG: wouldnt lie to you

TG: he just totally gagged when i called you babe

TG: what a virgin

CG: NOT SURE WHAT THE STATUS OF HIS VIRGINITY HAS TO DO WITH HIS SENSITIVITY TO A PET NAME BUT THAT MEANS THAT YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY CALL ME THAT MORE OFTEN.

CG: ALSO, WHY IS HE READING OUR TEXTS?

CG: WHAT IF I HAD SENT SOMETHING MUCH MORE EXPLICIT?

TG: karkat be honest

TG: when was the last time you sent me a nude unannounced

CG: UHH…

CG: OKAY, GOOD POINT.

TG: hell yes

TG: im always right

TG: so whats up

TG: did you talk to your dad yet

CG: I TRIED, BUT KANKRI WAS AN ASSHOLE AND DAD KIND OF BLEW UP AT US.

TG: shit kankri totally told your dad that i was there last night didnt he

TG: fuck im sorry

TG: i shouldve left afterwards im sorry

CG: DAVE, STOP APOLOGIZING RIGHT FUCKING NOW.

CG: YOU KNOW THAT I WOULDN’T HAVE LET YOU LEAVE ANYWAYS SO STOP BLAMING YOURSELF.

TG: ok

CG: BESIDES, I’M NOT AFRAID OF WHATEVER MY DAD HAS TO SAY.

CG: ONCE I EXPLAIN EVERYTHING, HE’S NOT GOING TO CARE THAT I WENT AGAINST HIS RULES.

CG: HE’LL PROBABLY BE GRATEFUL THAT I MADE YOU STAY.

TG: you think

TG: i have the exact opposite feeling

CG: I JUST TOLD YOU TO STOP FUCKING BLAMING YOURSELF. 

CG: YOU AND MY DAD MIGHT BE CLOSE, BUT I STILL KNOW HIM BETTER THAN YOU DO.

TG: yeah i know youre right

TG: i just worry

TG: i kind of just forced myself into your life and your home and i dont want to ruin anything

CG: DAVE.

TG: yes

CG: DAVE ELIZABETH STRIDER.

TG: thats me

CG: (OMITTING THE ‘DAVID’ BECAUSE I KNOW YOU HATE IT.)

TG: (thanks)

CG: THE LOVE OF MY FUCKING LIFE.

TG: whats up

CG: REMEMBER WHAT I SAID LAST NIGHT?

CG: ABOUT YOU BEING A PART OF THIS FAMILY?

TG: yes i remember

TG: it made me cry and i never fucking cry

TG: like ever

TG: fuck now johns laughing at me stfu john

CG: SHOULD I LEAVE YOU TWO ALONE?

CG: I’LL HAVE TO IN A MINUTE ANYWAYS.

CG: I’M JUST WAITING FOR MY DAD TO CONDUCT CPR ON HIMSELF SO THAT HE DOESN’T COMPLETELY SHIT HIMSELF WHEN KANKRI TELLS HIM ABOUT HOW CRONUS TOTALLY DID HIM LAST NIGHT.

CG: I WISH I COULD FORGET THE NOISES THAT CAME OUT OF HIS MOUTH OH GOD.

TG: me too

TG: shit was traumatizing

TG: but no carry on

TG: say what you want to say ill just ignore john relentlessly making fun of my soft side

CG: OKAY COOL.

CG: WELL, ANYWAYS,

CG: I FUCKING MEANT IT.

CG: YOU’RE A PART OF THIS FAMILY NOW. 

CG: YOU’VE BEEN A VERY PROMINENT PART OF MY LIFE AND MY DAD’S LIFE AND KANKRI’S LIFE FOR A LONG TIME NOW.

CG: THEY LOVE YOU LIKE THEY LOVE ME AND THEY WANT YOU HERE AS MUCH AS I WANT YOU HERE.

CG: SO YOU DIDN’T “FORCE” YOURSELF IN AND YOU ARE NOT GOING TO RUIN ANYTHING.

CG: WE LET YOU IN AND YOU MAKE THIS FAMILY BETTER. 

CG: AND I KNOW YOUR BROTHER/DAD MAKES YOU THINK THAT YOU AREN’T WORTH SHIT IN HIS LIFE BUT YOU MEAN EVERYTHING TO OURS. 

CG: AND I’M SURE JOHN AND HIS FAMILY FEEL THE SAME WAY.

CG: SO PLEASE STOP THINKING THAT WAY.

CG: OKAY?

TG: dammit

CG: ?

TG: im crying again

TG: god fucking dammit

CG: OH. HA.

CG: SORRY.

TG: dont be

TG: i just

TG: fuck i love you so much

TG: i also wish john would stop laughing at my soft side

TG: like just because he hasnt seen it before doesnt mean it doesnt exist fuckface

CG: YEAH, WELL JOHN’S AN IDIOT WHO HASN’T HELD A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP FOR MORE THAN TWO WEEKS, SO HE DOESN’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO LAUGH.

TG: i can see why its funny though

TG: ive known him longer than you and i never started crying until i met you

TG: you do things to me yknow

CG: I KNOW I DO.

CG: SHIT, MY DAD’S COMING UPSTAIRS.

CG: I GOTTA GO. GONNA TALK TO HIM ABOUT LAST NIGHT.

TG: sounds good

TG: keep me updated

CG: I WILL.

CG: LOVE YOU.

TG: love you too

TG: talk soon

CG: <3

\-- carcinoGeneticist  [CG]  has ceased pestering turntechGodhead  [TG]  at 17:51 --

TG: <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the support. Your comments mean the absolute world to me and having people show genuine interest in something I love doing so much makes me so unbelievably happy. I hope to have a couple of chapters out over the next couple of days, as I have the next four days off work. If you all have any suggestions (or know how to get the pesterlogs to be color-coded like they are in my Google Doc), let me know! As always, thank you so much for reading! Y'all are the best! <3


	3. Hike With Me, My Love

_ Summer was always my least favorite season. _

__ _ I was so used to wearing sweaters and if not sweaters, then Dave’s hoodies. We had been dating for about a year and a half now and had discussed our future together on several occasions, so his scent was safety. It was warm. It was what I considered my home now. And having an entire three months dedicated to sweltering heat and humidity that left me needing to wear t-shirts and shorts left me feeling exposed. It had nothing to do with my slightly heavier set body like my brother seemed to think. My chub was adorable, I knew that. I just liked to be covered up.  _

__ _ I had resorted to laying in my bed in one of Dave’s t-shirts, sprawled out as the summer heat was absorbed by my curtains. They did the trick early in the morning, but it got worse and worse throughout the day and it was beginning to reach the point of unbearable. Dave was always teasing me about being so sensitive to the heat but I always reminded him that he wasn’t allowed to talk, him being from Texas and all that. _

__ _ Finally, I got out of bed with an exasperated groan, tossing my phone onto my bed and going to my closet. I dug out a pair of shorter shorts, ones that were completely covered under Dave’s much larger shirt. I then grabbed my backpack, emptying it before shoving my water bottle, wallet, keys, a blanket, and my Polaroid camera into it. I huffed with completion before finally emerging from my dark room, making my way downstairs.  _

__ _ My dad looked up from his television program when I finally decided to show my face for the first time that day. _

__ _ “Well,” he grinned. “Look who decided to show up.” _

__ _ “Where’s Kankri?” _

__ _ “Cronus took him out for lunch. What do you need?” _

__ _ “I’m going to go see Dave. Can I take your car?” _

__ _ He hummed in thought for a bit, raising an eyebrow. _

__ _ “How far are you going and how much driving are you doing?” _

__ _ “I don’t know exactly where yet, but I’m going to go to the store to grab a few things, pick up Dave, and then find somewhere cold to hang out. Probably the woods or something, so not  _ that  _ much driving.” _

__ _ “Okay, yeah. Just be sure to keep me updated, and be home before nine, alright?” _

__ _ I lit up a little and nodded. _

__ _ “For sure. Thanks, Dad.” _

__ _ And I was out the door. _

__ _ My trip to the grocery store was uneventful and surprisingly quick. I picked up some of Dave’s favorite foods and a few of mine, also grabbing a couple of sandwiches. I paid, stuffed them in my backpack, then went off to see Dave. I hadn’t even told him that I was coming, but it didn’t matter. I had been texting him throughout the day so far and I knew he was home by himself. I parked outside his apartment building before pulling out my phone from my back pocket and going to his contact, pressing the call button. He answered after two rings. _

__ _ “Hey, cutie,” his voice came out of the speaker in the lowest possible quality. _

__ _ “Ew, don’t call me that,” I stuck my tongue out in disgust, but he could tell that I was also smiling and he laughed. _

__ _ “Whatever, you love it. What’s up?” _

__ _ “I’m outside.” _

__ _ “Congratulations, you’re getting some vitamin D.” _

__ _ “No, dumbass. I’m outside your apartment. Come on, we’re going somewhere.” _

__ _ “Wait, what? Why? Where?” His teasing tone dropped and switched to pure confusion with a hint of excitement. It was my turn to giggle then.  _

__ _ “Don’t worry about that yet. Just get into something you won’t completely overheat in, shoes you can walk in, and then go get your ass downstairs. Oh, and bring your water bottle. I doubt I have enough water for the both of us.” _

__ _ “It isn’t that hot out. Where the hell are we going?” _

__ _ “Speak for yourself. I’m fucking  _ suffering _. And I told you not to worry about it, just get down here. I’m in my dad’s car.” _

__ _ “Your skin absorbs the heat or something, I swear. Okay, two secs.” _

__ _ There was a little  _ beep  _ as he hung up and I rolled my eyes, still smiling. I hated when he said that and I also knew it was literally the only reason he continued to say it.  _

__ _ I waited patiently in the car, turning on the radio in the car to listen to a mixtape he had burned onto a CD for me. I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel to the beat, nodding my head and singing softly to the lyrics before, after one song, the passenger side door opened and he got in. _

__ _ “Took you long enough,” I teased, turning to look at him while turning down the volume. I nearly laughed when I saw what he had chosen to wear. Somehow, through the heat and misery, he had still chosen to wear jeans and a zip-up hoodie. “Oh my God, you are so fucked.” _

__ _ “I couldn’t find any clean jeans. Also, shut up, I’m from Texas. I’ll be fine.” _

__ _ He blindly tossed his backpack, looking far more empty than mine, into the back seat beside mine before leaning over and kissing my cheek. I felt a blush begin to rise and my smile widened.  _

__ _ “So, where are we going?” _

__ _ “Patience, my love. Patience.” _

__ _ I could see a smile tug at his lips and I started the engine before taking off. _

__ _ I had found a place only about fifteen minutes away, and when I parked beside a trail leading into the woods, Dave groaned.  _

__ _ “Babe, you did not pick me up to get exercise, did you?” _

__ _ “I absolutely did, now shut your mouth and help me divide the weight between our bags.” I got out of the car and opened the back door, grabbing our backpacks. He immediately quit his bitching when he saw the treats I had bought him and even hugged me around the waist when he saw the two bottles of apple juice I had at the bottom of my bag. He pressed a hundred kisses to my cheek and my neck, smiling wide and telling me how much he adored me and how he was so sorry that he ever doubted me. I couldn’t hold back a laugh. _

__ _ When I finally divvied up the weight between us, I managed to get him to let go of me and we finally started our trek into the woods. _

__ _ Despite this being probably the coolest area in temperature while still being outside, there was no one to be found. We had the woods to ourselves, and if it weren’t so peaceful, our hike would’ve been something a little more interesting. Instead, he took my hand and we walked together, taking the least steep routes so we could enjoy ourselves and not struggle so much. I was surprised to learn about how much he actually knew about the plants and the few animals we came across. He chalked it up to his interest in paleontology, saying that doing research on dead things and fossils had done him some good in that way.  _

__ _ I was just happy to hear him talk. Dave was always so keen on talking about his interests but he never really got the chance to unless it was on his blog. He was fairly quiet at school unless he was with me and our friends, but even then, unless his name was brought up, he was basically silent. On the occasion he did open up to me about his interests, he would stop mid-sentence and apologize for dominating the conversation. If it was his shitty metaphors and descriptions, I would cut him off, but I always felt so terrible when he apologized for talking about something he liked. It took far too long for me to convince him that I liked listening to him talk about his interests. _

__ _ He didn’t apologize this time and I was so happy that he didn’t. _

__ _ He was able to point out some of the poisonous plants and the ones that were technically edible but were still disgusting to humans. When I asked how he knew of their tastes, he fell silent and I laughed. He had eaten them, of course. _

__ _ When we reached the summit, we had a perfect view of the city. By then, the sky was beginning to turn pink as the sun was falling below the horizon. I had him hold my bag for a minute while I laid out the blanket, my backpack strap taking the place of my hand for a moment. Once it was laid out, I sat down, taking it back from him. He joined me on the ground. _

__ _ I looked out over the small field we were in, overlooking the city. Trees encircled us from behind while we faced out towards the sun. There was a very slight breeze, causing the long blades of grass and various tulips to sway with the warm wind. I wasn’t one for being colorful but being here alone with Dave, I was so happy for the view. I could tell he felt the same I saw the ghost of a smile on his face as he looked out over the city. My heart fluttered a bit. He was happy and that was all I ever wanted. _

__ _ We snapped out of our trance and dug out all of our food. Dave pulled out his phone from his pocket and started playing our favorite playlist on a low volume for some background music while we talked quietly amongst ourselves. Even after knowing each other for so long and dating for a year and a half of it, something that boosted the fluttering in my chest, we still had endless things to talk about. We never got bored with each other and that was why I knew he was the one I wanted to keep forever. There was no doubt in my mind that he was the one. _

__ _ And I didn’t see any doubt from him, either. _

__ _ He started going on about his portfolio for art school. We were both attending the same school and I had already finished my application a while back and was accepted. He had yet to finish his.  _

__ _ I leaned my head onto his shoulder once I finished eating and looked out at the sunset with him. He removed his shades to share the moment even more personally with me and slipped his arm up over my shoulders. He kept going on for a while, finishing with telling me that a lot of his pieces were inspired by me, my works, or days we’ve spent together. _

__ _ “You’re cute,” I mumbled after a moment of silence, leaning further into his side. He tilted his head down and kissed the top of my head before resting his against it. We kept our eyes on the city and the sky behind it, watching bright blues and yellows fade into purple and pink bleeding into each other. The stars made an appearance soon after. _

__ _ “Hey,” Dave then reached for my hand. “I wanted to ask about something.” _

__ _ “Yeah?” I pulled my head off his shoulder to look up at him. “Ask away.” _

__ _ “Well… Um, we’ve been together for a long time, and…” My heart began to pound. With anxiety or excitement, I couldn’t say. I kept my eyes on him, even though his gaze was turned downwards. He squeezed my hand gently. “We haven’t talked much about… a future or anything. And we’re getting to the age where we can move out and live on our own if we wanted and… I’ll let you answer before I ask the other thing. Heh.” _

__ _ “You want to know what I want for us? For the future?” When he nodded once, finally meeting my stare, I took a deep breath. “I want to move out with you. I want to go to college together and live a domestic life with you. I don’t see any of this going sideways anytime soon and I would like to keep it that way. I… want to stay with you. And wherever you go, I go.” _

__ _ He looked like he wanted to cry and I could see his bottom lip shake before he bit down on it to stop it. He blinked a few times, taking a moment to let my words sink in, before he let go of my hand and pulled out a ring box. My eyes grew wide immediately.  _

__ _ “I don’t think it’s my place to propose or anything, so don’t get too excited yet,” he said with a small, nervous chuckle. He opened up the box, revealing a metal black band with red designs hidden under a wall of clear resin. It was too late. I was already getting too excited. “I’m impatient and I know you are, too. I… Think of it as a promise ring. Once we’re stable and happy and I don’t need to dodge around my brother and his friends about our relationship, I’ll get you a real ring. But I… want you to have a reminder that you’re the literal world for me. You already know that I wouldn’t be here without you and your support, so… yeah.”  _

__ _ His cheeks were red and warm when I reached up, my hand on it. I could only nod before pulling him in to kiss him. He reciprocated with a small, relieved sigh. He wasn’t afraid of my reaction. He was afraid of being genuine. His brother made him that way but he had improved. He was getting better at being himself because of me, and I couldn’t begin to explain how happy that made me feel.  _

__ _ “I love you,” I mumbled softly against his lips. He took my hand in his again, slipping the cold metal on my ring finger. I already loved the feeling of it. I felt safe. _

__ _ “I love you, too.” He let me snuggle into his chest and we both fell silent, breathing each other in and listening to the faint sounds of the city and the nature around us. I spun the ring on my finger, my mind wandering to our future. A future we didn’t need to worry or think about just yet. _

__ _ “Thanks for this by the way,” he whispered softly after a bit. “Getting me out of the apartment and everything. I needed it.” _

__ _ “We both did.” _

__ _ I then pulled away from him briefly to get my camera from my bag, turning it on. He chuckled. _

__ _ “You and your photos. How much money have you spent on film for that thing?” _

__ _ “More than the camera itself cost, but shut up. You’re going to appreciate these pictures later.” _

__ _ “I don’t mind them. I just wish I could keep some for myself.” _

__ _ “But your brother is a dipshit.” _

__ _ “Yes, my brother is a dipshit.” _

__ _ I took one picture of the sky with my phone, giving the camera the chance to warm up, before lifting it up and turning it to face us. Dave was always obedient in giving me a smile to admire later and I never cared about showing my soft side in a photo with the person I loved so much. Plus, he never cared too much about letting me take a picture whenever he wasn’t wearing his shades because it could be blamed on the camera rather than a very real pigment in his irises.  _

__ _ I leaned my head back on his shoulder and took the picture of the two of us, smiling like a couple of lovesick teenagers. A shocking revelation, really. I waited for it to print out, then fanned it and turned off the camera, setting it aside. _

__ _ We let our eyes go right back to admiring the sunset before us and I glanced down at the picture a few minutes later after it had developed, showing it to Dave. He smiled brightly with me and tilted my chin up, pulling me in for a soft, loving kiss. _

__ _ This is definitely going in the center of my picture board. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading! You all have absolutely no idea how much your support means to me. I am seriously loving writing this story so far and have a lot of ideas for it, so I hope you guys enjoy! Also, thank you all for the help on the color coding in the pesterlogs. I searched around but I don’t think there’s anything I can do for it right now, but I really appreciate the help!


	4. You Kept Him Safe

“Karkat,” my dad called from outside my door. I tossed my phone to the side, briefly seeing Dave’s last message. “Can I come in?”

I called out to him in approval and he opened the door, stepping inside. I had to give him credit for respecting my privacy the way he did. Sure, he was a little strict on occasion when I wanted Dave to come over but that was more of an annoyance than anything he was doing wrong. Though, now being a technical adult in college, it was a bit much sometimes. 

I looked up at him and our gazes met. From the calm expression on his face, it seemed as though he hadn’t yet spoken to Kankri and had chosen to talk to me first, which was ideal for me. I didn’t need him pissed off while explaining the situation to him.

“You had said there was an emergency of some kind,” he said as he took a seat at my desk, briefly glancing up at my photo board. I gave a short nod. “What exactly happened?”

I warned him that it would be a long story and he simply waited for me to continue, so I began. I told him everything, even the details I noticed in the past such as the bruises and smaller injuries that littered Dave’s body throughout our relationship, then how he came to me in the rain for help. I told him about the concussion, the abuse he had endured for more than a decade, the relationship to his father, the way he reacted when he didn’t realize someone had walked into a room until they spoke up, and the way Dave had always chosen to hide himself. I even shared with my dad what he had told me about feeling as though he were forcing his way into our lives and how he seemed to always feel out of place. While I wished I had checked in with Dave before sharing such personal details of his emotions, it was the real kicker for my dad and definitely something worth mentioning to get the point across. I saw hurt flash across his features.

“He really feels that way when he’s here?” My dad leaned forward in my chair, his elbows resting on his knees. His stare never broke from mine.

“He feels that way everywhere he goes, I think,” I mumbled now, looking a bit sad myself. “It’s his broth- fuck, I mean dad. His dad makes him feel like that and always has. I think that might be why Dave and I didn’t get along for a while when we first met.”

Dave had always been so reserved and quiet. I had known him since grade school and we had never talked until we reached middle school. We had a bit of a rivalry, me thinking he was a smug asshole with a fake personality and him thinking I chose to hate everybody for irrelevant bullshit. He wasn’t wrong but I sure as hell was, and when I realized he was more than what he put into the world, he began to realize that I did, too.

“I remember you coming home from school muttering about him under your breath,” my dad said smugly, making my cheeks burn lightly. “It was entertaining. Kankri so badly wanted to psychoanalyze your relationship and try to fix everything.”

“Kankri needed to stay out of it and he knew that. He just wanted to piss me off.” I rolled my eyes. He chuckled gently before we both fell silent for a moment. I could tell that he was trying to process everything I had just thrown at him while I gave him a minute to do so. He had definitely noticed some of what I had mentioned but never thought much more of it. 

The longer the silence was drawn out, the more my chest and stomach fluttered with anxiety. Finally, after about a minute and a half that felt more like an hour, he spoke up again.

“Would you like to invite Dave over for dinner tomorrow night? I feel that he should be here for a  _ family  _ discussion.”

The emphasis on the word made me light up and my lips grew into a big smile, which he didn’t see all too often. I quickly nodded, grabbing my phone again. My dad returned the smile and stood from my chair, going to leave. He stopped at the door and turned to look back at me.

“Oh, and Karkat?”

“Yeah, Dad?”

“Please let him know that we’ll take care of everything. He’s been a part of this family for a long time, so I want him to be comfortable with us.”

“I’ve told him. He’s still hesitant.” 

At this, my dad frowned a little.

“With the way he’s treated at home, I can’t say I’m surprised. But we’ll break him from that habit. He deserves to be respected and loved, especially in his own home.” He paused for a moment but his mind came up blank. “We’ll discuss this further when he comes over. Is he safe to be out of the house for a long period of time?”

“His brother doesn’t seem to care when he’s gone. It’s whenever he’s there so I don’t think we’ll get any trouble.”

“Well, if we do, we’ll be prepared, right?”

“Right.”

“Hey.” He shot me another small smile. I could see pride in his eyes. That was something I rarely ever saw. “You did the right thing letting him in and letting him stay.” And then he left, shutting the door silently behind him. My chest swelled with glee. 

_ I knew it! _

__ My hands nearly shook with excitement and happiness as I unlocked my phone, finding it much easier to ignore the words from my dad and Kankri through the other wall.

— carcinoGeneticist  [CG]  began pestering turntechGodhead  [TG]  at 18:25 —

CG: HEY.

CG: I TALKED TO MY DAD.

TG: oh shit whats the sitch

TG: please tell me your dad isnt grounding you or some shit

TG: you told him that im sorry right

CG: OH MY GOD, CALM YOUR TITS FOR TWO SECONDS, STRIDER.

TG: ok

TG: calming the titties

TG: just tell me what he said and whats going on

TG: the suspense is killing the audience

CG: WHAT AUDIENCE?

TG: our audience of millions of adoring fans karkat

TG: who else would i be talking about

TG: you pretend to not notice the people who made our fame possible smh

TG: a dick move on your part really

CG: JESUS, ARE YOU THAT NERVOUS?

TG: yeah

TG: i am

TG: can you just tell me please

TG: john thinks im going to have a heart attack and is preparing to do pretend cpr on me and im scared that hell fuck that up and break my ribs or some shit

CG: WELL, NOTHING IS SET IN STONE AND WE DON’T HAVE ANY SORT OF SOLUTION TO THE SITUATION,

TG: alright panic is starting to settle in

TG: making my chest its home and shit

CG: BUT MY DAD SAID THE SAME THING ABOUT BEING A PART OF OUR FAMILY AS I DID.

CG: HE ALSO WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF YOU’RE ABLE TO COME OVER FOR DINNER TOMORROW SO WE CAN ALL TALK MORE ABOUT THIS.

CG: A FAMILY DISCUSSION, AS HE CALLED IT.

TG: oh shit really

TG: thats what came out of his mouth

CG: YES.

TG: wow i

TG: yeah of course i can come over for dinner fuck yeah

TG: wow im surprised he isnt telling you to break up with me because im making you a defiant little asshole

CG: DAVE, I’VE BEEN A DEFIANT LITTLE ASSHOLE SINCE THE DAY OF MY BIRTH.

CG: I HAVE RAINED HELL UPON THIS FAMILY FOR ALMOST NINETEEN YEARS AND I WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO UNTIL I AM SIX FEET UNDERGROUND.

CG: IF ANYTHING, YOU’VE CALMED ME DOWN TO A CONTROLLABLE LEVEL.

TG: aw

CG: HE KNOWS THAT.

CG: NO, DON’T “aw” ME, STRIDER.

CG: THIS ISN’T FLIRTING.

TG: yes it is

TG: you and i both know that it is

CG: IT ABSOLUTELY IS NOT SO SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH.

TG: uh huh

TG: wait do you hear that

CG: OH GOD, HEAR WHAT?

TG: its the sound of me believing that it wasnt flirting

TG: off in the distance

TG: so far off in the distance in fact that i cant even hear it anymore

TG: what a shame

CG: YOU REALLY ARE AN INSUFFERABLE PRICK.

CG: I’LL PICK YOU UP AT JOHN’S TOMORROW AT FIVE.

CG: MY DAD SHOULD BE HOME BY THEN SO I CAN TAKE HIS CAR.

TG: yeah that sounds good to me

TG: also i do not want them to be alarmed but by then the bruise on my cheek is going to look ugly as fuck and i would really rather your family not react to that

TG: it was embarrassing enough having john lose his shit about it

TG: makes everything feel so abnormal and uncomfortable for me

CG: IT’S BECAUSE THIS IS ABNORMAL.

CG: GETTING BEAT EVERY DAY OF YOUR FUCKING LIFE ISN’T NORMAL.

CG: BUT I’LL LET THEM KNOW AND ASK THEM NOT TO BE TOO DRAMATIC.

TG: thanks hun

TG: i appreciate you

CG: <3

TG: hey so

TG: as much as i want to keep talking to you because i love you and you’re my favorite person

TG: john is losing his shit and bugging me nonstop to play mario kart with him so i think i need to let you go

CG: YEAH, SOUNDS GOOD.

CG: I CAN HEAR THINGS STARTING TO GET KIND OF HEATED BETWEEN MY DAD AND KANKRI SO I THINK I MIGHT SIT DOWN AGAINST THE WALL AND LISTEN.

TG: oh hell yeah dude

TG: use kankris words against him later and make him embarrassed

CG: OH YEAH, LET ME GRAB MY NOTEPAD.

TG: lol

TG: youre funny

TG: ok i gtg

CG: ALRIGHT. 

CG: FIVE O’CLOCK TOMORROW NIGHT.

CG: BE READY BECAUSE I WON’T WAIT FOR YOUR ASS.

TG: alright ill be ready

TG: love you

CG: I LOVE YOU, TOO.

— turntechGodhead  [TG]  has ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist  [CG]  at 18:31—

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys again for the support! I know this chapter was somewhat uneventful and I apologize but the next chapter will have Dave and Karkat together in the same room again so I hope to make it a little softer and sappier and more enjoyable!


	5. Images of Happiness

I sipped on my coffee as I leaned back in the driver’s seat, glancing over at John’s front door where I was waiting patiently for Dave to grab the remainder of his things. I had said that I wouldn’t be waiting for him but I was going to anyways because I was used to the prolonged time he took to finish gathering his things. I was calm knowing he was coming home with me though, so I didn’t mind too much. 

Finally, the door swung open and Dave emerged from the house, giving John a little fist-bump before turning to the car and flashing me a warm smile as he made his way to me. I gave John a little wave as he did the same. My own smile widened as Dave got in the car and leaned over to peck my lips. His bag was tossed into the back a moment later.

“Took you long enough,” I teased like I always did.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. John and I were up all night and then his dad pulled some god-awful prank on us at eight in the morning.”

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I got you some coffee then.” I tilted my head down to gesture towards the second coffee cup in the cup holder. 

“Oh, hell yes. Thanks, babe.”

He grabbed it and immediately took a long drink from it, sighing with relief. I stuck my tongue out with disgust and turned my eyes to the road, pulling out of John’s driveway.

“I still don’t understand how the fuck you can drink black coffee with a straight face. That shit is disgusting. You should’ve seen the barista’s face when I asked for a coffee with no creamer or sugar or anything.”

“Yeah, but it gets the job done. Oh, hey, before you turn, could we stop by my apartment real fast?” I nearly crashed the car at the request but he quickly chuckled. “Bro isn’t home or anything. I need to grab my meds and some clothes and stuff, just in case. John said I could stay another night if I needed to.”

“Oh, thank fuck,” I breathed with relief, taking a right at the stop sign instead of a left. I drove to his apartment as requested and we made a round around the block to make sure his guardian really was at work. Not seeing his car, I found a place to park. However, he stopped me when I got out to go in with him.

“You’re staying here.”

“What?” I looked up at him, having already made my way around the car to stand beside him. “No, I’m going in.”

“Kat, it’s sweet that you’re protective and all, but if there’s any chance that he’s actually home, I’m not letting you in with me.”

“Cool, but unfortunately I don’t actually listen to any of your rules unless it has to do with something that would determine the outcome of our relationship. So I’m going with you. I’ll have 9-1-1 on standby, if it helps.”

He shook his head and I frowned more.

“If he sees you, he’ll kick your ass along with mine. And if he didn’t do that, he’d play angel until you left, then he’d never let me leave ever again. Also, the place is a fucking mess.”

“You know how stubborn I am, right?” I raised an eyebrow. “How about you go in first and if it’s clear, you let me in, too?”

Dave sighed deeply, reaching up and pinching the bridge of his nose under his shades, causing them to lift up briefly. He then lowered his arm with a huff. 

“Fine. You wait outside the door and I’ll call out if it’s clear.”

I smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. It didn’t calm his nerves like I’d hoped, but I couldn’t blame him.

We made our way upstairs and, as expected, I got the all-clear from him. When I stepped into the front door, my heart dropped.

It looked like a mild hoarder home with pizza boxes and soda cans littered throughout the living room. There were no doubt rodents and insects around, so being the slight germaphobe I was, I immediately kept my arms around Dave’s and my side to his. Swords were in old kitchen appliances, the fridge filled with dangerous weaponry and equipment rather than food and the sink overflowing first with dishes they once had that clearly hadn’t been used in a decade or more, then with garbage. The apartment reeked of so many overwhelming smells that I had to cover my nose with my sleeve. I was pretty sure that Dave was also holding his breath as he lead me through the living room and the hallway to his bedroom. I didn’t understand how his entire living space smelled so terrible and he always smelled so good but when he opened the door to his bedroom, I understood.

It was messy and I immediately wanted to clean, but it was manageable. It was a comforting mess rather than an overwhelming one. Some laundry was scattered across the floor, along with a couple of his own swords and wires were strewn about from both his turntables and his computer. His closet was a makeshift darkroom for his photography, serving as a mini pantry as well with a couple of bottles of apple juice, a gallon of water, and some various packaged snacks he managed to grab from the school’s cafeteria back in high school. I found him going all out, trying to stock up during our senior year, and I never understood why. Now I did.

His bed didn’t have any sheets and didn’t even have a frame. It was just a couple of mattresses stacked on top of each other and a couple of blankets and pillows that were somewhat tattered and old. I understood why he was always so keen on how warm I was with my sweaters now. There was no way those blankets were enough to keep him warm during the winter. Candles lined his windowsill and the shelf he had above his “bed,” if I could even consider it as such, which explained why his room smelled so good, especially in comparison to the rest of the apartment.

“I told you it was a bad idea for you to come here,” he mumbled, his hands shaking as he pulled away from me to gather the few things he actually needed. He didn’t own many things that were actually worth keeping anyways. 

“No, I’m…” I paused, thinking for the right words. “I’m glad. It helps puts things into perspective. How do you live like this?”

“With determination and a lot of tip-toeing around.” 

I helped him grab a few things, putting them into my own backpack that I had grabbed from the back of the car before heading into the apartment with him. I saw a few of his pictures lying around, some being selfies of him and some were the view of the sky from his window. He didn’t seem keen on grabbing the ones of himself, so I did. He was a bit younger in most of them, maybe fourteen or fifteen, but he was adorable. I could see how some of his features had changed, but he still looked so similar. 

It only took us about five minutes to gather everything he wanted but right as we were about to head out to that wretched living room again, he stopped and made a complete 180.

“Shit, hold up,” he quickly ran over, reaching under his pillow and grabbing a folded piece of paper. When he saw the confusion in my expression, he shot me a lopsided grin and unfolded it, handing it to me to look at. “It’s the only one I was able to safely keep here. It’s, like, my most prized possession. I’m not sure how I nearly forgot it.”

I brought a hand up to my mouth as I looked down at it, my vision becoming blurry with tears. 

It was a photograph of us but not just any regular photo. It was our first picture together as a couple. It was worn and slightly tearing at the creases, but otherwise was in decent condition. On the back of it was a little note I had written to him after I got it back from picking it up at the photo printing booth. At the time it was taken, I was sixteen and he was still fifteen, but only a few weeks from turning sixteen as well, so it didn’t matter much. It was a photo I had snapped in secret and sent to him hours later, his head resting on my shoulder as he had dozed off. I had moved his shades up onto the top of his head so I could get a shot of his full face, eyes shut and lips parted just slightly in a peaceful, happy expression. With our age at the time, we still had some of our baby features but since then, we had both gained a bit of weight. I had helped him get back to a much healthier weight as when I had first seen him undress, he was a fucking stick because of his brother. For me, it was just happy relationship weight. I had stopped gaining after a few months and he remained just a tad below average, so our cheeks were a little less full in the photo than they were now. 

That didn’t make it any less precious.

“You… kept this?” My voice shook as I looked up to meet his eyes through his shades. He gave a short nod.

“Of course I did, Karkat. Why wouldn’t I?”

Tears freely rolled down my cheeks now and I let out a trembling laugh as Dave reached up to wipe them away before I could do so myself. 

“I’m not sure, I just though that with your brother, maybe… you would’ve gotten rid of it for your own safety.”

“No fucking way. I may not be able to hang up our pictures freely like you do but you can bet your ass I’m keeping the only photo I have and hiding it and never,  _ ever  _ getting rid of it.”

I gave the photo back to him before going up, my arms slipping around his waist. I felt him pocket the photo before I felt his hand in my hair, his other arm around my shoulders. I mumbled a soft “I love you” into his shirt and listened to him return it. We stayed there for a moment while I recollected myself before we remembered where we were and that it would be safer for us to get the hell out before anyone else showed up to ruin everything. He cleared a small path for me to the front door, helping me through the mess while my terrified eyes darted left to right, examining all the garbage. We made it safely out to my dad’s car and headed back home.

With my hands on the steering wheel, I looked down at the ring on my hand, feeling my heart jump again like it always did whenever I looked at it. I knew that the feeling of euphoria with your significant other was supposed to lessen after so long, but I had yet to feel that happen. Every second with him was heaven to me.

I then reached over, slipping my hand into his and lacing our fingers as I turned onto my road so I wouldn’t have to switch gears until we were in front of my house. I felt him squeeze and gently thumb my ring. When I looked over, his head was against the window as he stared out but he was smiling. 

He never smiled before we dated and the fact that I had caused him to become that much more comfortable and happy with himself made me feel like I could die and feel fulfilled.

I only let go once I needed to pull into the driveway. I parked the car and switched the gear before joining him outside. We grabbed our bags and headed inside, where Kankri greeted us from the couch. My dad called out his own from the kitchen and Dave called back for the both of us. Kanki’s eyes grew wide when he saw Dave’s injury and I quickly shot him a very small glare to keep him from opening his loud mouth. He took the hint and turned his eyes back to the television with mild difficulty. I took Dave’s hand in mine once again.

“You two are okay to hang out upstairs if you’d like to,” my dad lowered his voice finally, now standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He, too, noticed Dave’s cheek but he did a much better job of hiding any sort of reaction he might’ve felt. “You’re adults now so I trust you won’t do anything out of the ordinary.”

“Oh, yikes.” My free hand made a soft sound as it hit my face and Dave laughed, squeezing my other one. 

“‘Course. He’s in good hands.”

“Dave, shut it.”

Both him and my dad shared a laugh before I led him upstairs towards my room, avoiding Kankri’s jealous stare. Neither of us had been allowed to bring our boyfriends to our rooms before, so while it wasn’t a new experience, it was strange doing it with the permission of my father. I understood his reasoning, though. My dad wanted Dave to have a safe space and to have a place where he felt welcome. Besides, he was right. We were adults and eventually had to take matters into our own hands.

“Damn, your dad changed pretty drastically in the time he found out I was getting my ass beat, huh?” Dave chuckled lightly. I let go of his hand reluctantly to set my backpack to lean against the bed frame. I rolled my eyes.

“You shouldn’t joke about that, you know. It’s traumatizing for you, isn’t it?”

“I mean, yeah, of course.” He joined me by the bed and did the same with his bag. He looked up at me as he sat at the edge. “But anyone with trauma will tell you that humor makes everything so much easier to handle. I’m not offending myself.”

“Honestly Dave, I don’t think anyone could ever manage to offend you.”

“I’m sure there’s a way. Everyone’s got their quirks.” He shrugged and I sat beside him, kicking off my shoes and crossing my legs to face him instead. He brought one leg up and turned as well. “Like, I’m sure if someone were to point out something negative about me and relate it directly to my dad, I’d probably be pretty pissed.”

“You’re nothing like him, though.”

“I look like him.”

I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head a little. 

“Do you? I’ve never seen what he looks like.”

“Yeah, I took after him in, like, every way. I guess I look a lot like my mom, too. They both look pretty similar to each other though.”

“You never talk about your mom. How is she?”

“Still in rehab from my understanding. But I couldn’t tell you much else.”

I nodded gently. We shared that in family similarities. His mom had lost custody of him and his sister a long time ago due to worsening alcoholism while my own mom had fucked off to join a gang. He had been separated from his sister, who had been able to go live with their aunt while he got shipped off across the country to his father. Neither of us had seen our mothers in so long that we both had few memories of them.

“Would you rather have more similarities to her or your dad?” 

I knew the answer and he was aware that I knew but he still answered. 

“Oh, my mom, definitely.” He leaned back a little, one arm propping him up while the other helped with hand gestures while we talked. “She may have been a raging alcoholic but she kept food in the house for my sister and I and she still gave us attention when she wasn’t too wasted and was only working on getting there. She was a good mom. Our family genetics when it comes to addiction are total shit, though. That’s all.”

“Family genetics?”

“Yeah. My mom’s an alcoholic, my grandma was an alcoholic, her mom was an alcoholic, it goes on.”

“So… you’re potentially prone to getting easily addicted, too?”

“Technically speaking, yeah. It seems to only be the women in my family but I’m not willing to test that so I just steer clear of the drinks anyways. It’s easier that way.”

_ Huh. The more you know. _

“What about you though?” When my face twisted into one of confusion, he clarified. “Anything new about your mom?”

“Oh, ha. No, not really. I don’t pay attention to what her gang gets up to but sometimes I see Kankri come storming downstairs and muttering about her the way I used to do with you back in middle school.”

“Oh shit, that’s fucking funny. He’s really that hung up about her? You don’t seem to care.”

It was my turn to shrug then. “Kankri loved our mom before she went psycho and left us for a life of rebellion but he’s also older than me and had more time with her than I did. I’ve always been more of a daddy’s boy.”

“Oh trust me, I’m aware.”

“ _ Dave! _ ” I punched his arm hard enough to hurt but he dropped his flirtatious smirk to laugh, rubbing the the ache. “You little prick!”

“This is literally my job, Kat. I don’t know what you expect from me.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.” 

I rolled my eyes and shifted closer to him, grabbing the collar of his shirt to pull him up closer so I could press my lips to his gently. He smiled against mine.

“No, I don’t.”

He kissed me again and we pulled away just in time to hear the rapping of my dad’s knuckles on my door that I had left open.

“Hey, boys. Dinner’s ready.”

“Be down in a minute, Dad.”

He nodded and went right back downstairs. I got off my bed, grabbing Dave’s hand and pulling him up. I then remembered the cuts on his arms when he winced a little, still sore.

“I uh… didn’t hurt your arm too badly or anything when I hit you, right?”

“Huh? Oh, no. You didn’t. I would’ve let you know.”

I felt a bit of relief but not quite enough.

“It doesn’t get to you emotionally when I do things like that, right? Because if it does-“

“No, Karkat,” his spoke, his tone going a bit softer. “I know you’re being silly and you’re not doing it with malicious or abusive intent. It doesn’t make me upset or anything. I think it’s funny.”

I let out a small sigh, a bit more weight lifting off my chest. I hadn’t thought much about it until just then because before, I didn’t have the context of what was going on at home. Now that I did, it was going to be a minor concern of mine for a little while. He kissed the top of my head however, and the conversation was dropped for the time being. 

“You ready to have this probably weird ass conversation with my family?” I looked up at him and grinned a little. He gave a quiet chuckle and nodded as we emerged from my bedroom to make our way downstairs. 

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was very proud of this chapter and its length so I hope you all enjoyed it as well! I’m writing this a lot more than I originally thought I would so I really hope it becomes something much bigger in my life. Also, I am very happy I was able to write so much now (it’s one in the morning smh) because I’m getting my nose pierced today which is exciting so I’ll be gone for a while. Anyways, thank you all for reading, as always! :)


	6. Marshmallow

_ This trip was the only time I would willingly allow Kankri to take the front seat. _

_ I had always had a bit of a god complex and needed to be in charge which wasn’t always ideal considering I was the much younger and, unfortunately, much smaller sibling. Today was different, though. Dave was coming with us to go camping in the woods and I wanted nothing more than to be crammed in the backseat with my boyfriend and our luggage. _

_ With the two of us still being seventeen, my dad remained hesitant about letting us have a tent to ourselves, but I had bothered him into submission. I thought maybe the fact that, while trying to convince him, I had blatantly admitted that Dave and I were “active” was what did him in. He had been trying to prevent it but even Kanrki had passed that point, so what else was there to do? It could’ve just been my annoying persistence, though. I couldn’t be sure. _

_ The only reason Cronus wasn’t joining us was that he absolutely despised camping. He also had to work and he couldn’t take the time off to join us. That was fine by me.  _

_ “So I take a left up here?” _

_ “Yeah, Dad. Left up here, drive to the stop sign, then take a right.” _

_ I was bouncing my leg with excitement. Dave and I hadn’t been able to see each other for a week and a half now. He had gone off to visit family for a week in Texas and then his brother refused to let him leave the house for a few extra days for unknown reasons so this trip was to make up for it. Three days together in the woods. Anything could happen.  _

_ “It’s the next building. Just park out front,” I directed my dad, then whipped out my phone to shoot Dave a quick text, letting him know that we had arrived. When my dad parked the car, I got out with a bit of difficulty, having to maneuver around my backpack on the floor of the car and needing to watch out for the pile of stuff on the other window-side seat. As I had finally managed to get out of the car completely, hissing a few swears and curses under my breath, Dave emerged from his apartment building with his backpack slung over one shoulder.  _

_ I smiled brightly and he did the same, dropping his bag to the ground as I ran to hug him tight. He picked me up off the ground with surprising ease considering I was not exactly the lightest person in the world. Perhaps my height made up for it.  _

_ “Holy hell, I missed you,” he mumbled into my shoulder. I let out a soft laugh, gripping his shirt. _

_ “I missed you, too.” _

_ He finally set me down and picked his bag up again and I got right back into the car, this time taking the middle seat. He shared greetings with my dad and my brother before taking a look at the seating arrangement and laughing. _

_ “Uh, Kat?” _

_ “Hm?” _

_ “Are we gonna fit?” _

_ I took a peek as well and didn’t see an issue. I was perfectly happy to be forced to squeeze up into him, but Kankri answered that for me. _

_ “He only agreed to take the backseat so he could engage in close contact with you, Dave. If there’s a way to make it work, Karkat will figure it out for that sole purpose.” _

_ I reached up and punched his arm with a sharp glare, to which he turned slightly to hit me back. My dad grabbed his wrist before he could. _

_“Shut up, Kankri!”_ _  
__“It’s true, isn’t it?”_

_ “Oh my God, knock it off, you two!” My dad was already so done with the two of us and Dave just laughed again. He got in the car, setting his bag on the floor between his shoes. In order to close his door, he was forced to put his other arm around my shoulders which saved space and made me feel warm and tingly all over.  _

_ “Hey, that gives you two a surprising amount of room,” Kankri said with a hint of surprise himself. I no doubt looked blissed out of my mind to be so close to Dave again. _

_ “Yeah, we can make shit work.” I felt him shrug slightly and I quickly moved to lay my head on his shoulder. I only wanted to be closer.  _

_ My dad started up the car again. _

_ “Is anyone else wanting to stop for coffee or should I wait a while longer?” He pulled out of his parking spot and took off down the road. Kankri nodded his head and I felt Dave do the same while I closed my eyes, breathing him in. I didn’t bother responding. _

_ It had to have been a few hours later when I felt fingers in my hair and heard two car doors shut. My eyes fluttered open and I groaned softly, first seeing Dave, then noticing my dad and brother outside of the car searching for the perfect spots for our three tents, one for Kankri, one for my dad, and one for Dave and me. _

_ “We’re here,” Dave mumbled softly. I lifted my head just slightly before letting it fall back to his shoulder with a small huff. “Babe, you gotta get up. My arm aches.” _

_ “My neck fucking aches but you don’t see me complaining,” I muttered with my signature bitterness. I pulled away from him anyway so he could take his arm back and he chuckled. _

_ “Rude.” _

_ “Whatever.” _

_ He unbuckled and got out of the car, making room for me to step out as well by grabbing his bag. Once out of the car, I looked around at our little campsite. My dad had driven through a dead-end trail in the woods that we had followed years ago. It was left abandoned long ago, so we took over to make use of the space. Trees covered us from all angles and it was clear that we were far from any civilization. Turning on my phone, I could see no bars for my internet connection, but I didn’t care. Dave was right here with me, so I didn’t have much use for my phone.  _

_ I pocketed my phone again and looked around at the nature surrounding us. Dave took a deep, exaggerated breath. _

_ “Ah, do you smell that, Karkat?” _

_ “Oh my God, smell what?” My eyes moved from the tops of the trees to him. Considering his height, it wasn’t all that much of a change.  _

_ “Nature. We’re going to make a man out of you yet.” _

_“I’m pretty sure this is as manly as we’re getting, Dave. I think having gay sex is the number one thing stopping us from getting any further from where we are now.”_ _  
__“Oh my God, hush,” he hissed, a blush rising to his cheeks. “Your family is right over there.”_

_ “They can’t hear a thing. Relax.” I couldn’t help but grin though. It was fun seeing him all flustered since he prided himself on being stoic and having the uncanny ability to hold back any and all emotion from his features. I then turned from my conversation with him to get to the trunk to unload some of our camping gear. “Now, help me with our tent.” _

_ “Oh, we’re sharing?” _

_ “Didn’t I tell you? I pestered my dad enough that he gave in and said we could share one. He was so done with my shit, it was honestly kind of funny.” I dragged what would be our tent from the back, swinging the strap for the bag over one shoulder and hugging the bag itself under my arm. _

_ “I pity your poor father sometimes,” he mumbled, reaching out as an offer to take the tent from me. _

_ I shook my head in response and we went over to my dad and Kankri, who had finally found a good, flat spot for our tents. I set ours down under a tree, the furthest we could get from the two of them. I didn’t even have any plans with Dave. I just wanted to be as far away as possible from them so I could talk with him without any sort of interruption, especially from Kankri. It wasn’t all that far away though and was even close enough for us to enjoy the fire pit from inside with the flap open. Sure, we couldn’t feel the heat from it, but we could admire the flame which was all we really needed. Besides, we had each other. _

_ They handled their own tents while Dave and I struggled with ours. Every year, I had an equal amount of trouble with setting it up and this was his first time camping at all, so we were both at a loss. We failed our way through it and were finally able to set up the inside of it with an air mattress, another thing I had to beg my dad to let us share. While my dad and Kankri worked on starting a fire, Dave and I sat in our tent playing a game of Uno.  _

_ The sun had set almost fully by then and we had to hang a lantern in the netting on the ceiling of the tent in order to see our cards. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. He could kick my ass at Uno if he were blindfolded and I were allowed to pick my own cards. Luck was never on my side with that game. _

_ “Oh no, you had to draw a blue? Oh no,” he feigned failure, then shot me a shit-eating grin as he put down his next card. “Reverse, bitch. Draw again.” _

_ “Why do I let you talk me into playing this stupid fucking game?” I threw my hands up in the air with exasperation and he laughed.  _

_ “Babe, I can see your cards when you do that.” _

_ “So what? You’ll find a way to win anyway!” _

_ He chuckled again and I began to draw a mass amount of cards. My dad finally got a fire going and we were able to finish our game a few minutes later, Dave maintaining his winning streak of a thousand games. Maybe a million.  _

_ We put away the cards for the time being and turned off our lantern to save battery life, allowing the fire to flicker to life and light up our tent and the surrounding area with a warm glow. I moved to sit between Dave’s legs, leaning back into his chest. _

_ “Did you bring that comic you said you wanted me to read?” _

_ “Oh, yeah,” he answered, reaching over into his backpack beside the mattress and pulling out a fairly thick comic book. “You should read it out loud.” _

_ “I don’t mind, but if my dad and Kankri stop talking to each other and start listening, I’m throwing the book at them and never touching it again.” _

_ “Aw, no storytime with Karkles and family?” _

_ “Absolutely the fuck not.” _

_ “Just read.” _

_ His arms went around my waist and his chin rested on my shoulder as I opened it up and began to read, slowly flipping through the pages. I did different voices for each character, gradually finding myself more deeply invested in the story myself. Dave swore by his comic books and even though they weren’t always my thing, he picked out some good ones. They were easier for him to focus on as well since his ADHD made it difficult for him to read anything without good imagery.  _

_ My dad and my brother did eventually end their own conversation to listen to me read. With my voices and narration, they were able to imagine it all and didn’t really need the pictures to be invested in the story themselves. Dave’s shades were slightly crooked as his cheek was pressed to mine and I was almost one-hundred percent sure my dad took photos of the two of us. He knew how much I valued any photo of Dave and me so any picture he took would be sent to me once we had a solid internet connection again. I read a few acts before finally closing it and setting it aside. _

_ “Hey, why’d you stop?” Dave frowned, turning his head so he could look up at me. _

_ “I told you I’m not reading for an audience and I already broke that rule,” I muttered, crossing my arms. “But also, we’re here for a few days. We want to spread that story out so we have something to look forward to for tomorrow’s campfire.” _

_ “I found that story to be quite interesting and invigorating,” Kankri spoke up, glancing over at us briefly. He and our dad were sat across from each other on a couple of logs on either side of the fire pit. “Dave, you should send me a list of comics you enjoy. When we are able to get internet connection again, that is.” _

_ “Sure, bro. I can loan you some of mine. I’ve got quite the collection.” _

_ The two began some conversation about comics that I vaguely paid attention to. It made me happier seeing my boyfriend and my brother getting along and cracking jokes similar to how a pair of siblings would. I would know, considering I interacted with Kankri every fucking day of my life and he drove me absolutely batshit crazy. _

_ I still loved him, of course.  _

_ My dad then passed around skewers and handed Dave and me a small bag of marshmallows. Not wanting to move from our position in the tent, we opened it up and shared them as they were while watching my dad set his on fire to eat them extra crispy and Kankri slowly and elegantly roast his to a golden-brown.  _

_ I fell silent as I listened to the three of them engage in conversation, mostly about Dave’s interests and what he wanted to do in and out of school. At the time, he was still trying to figure out where he wanted to apply outside of high school and he was leaning more towards the art school I was attending. I was begging him to join me as none of our mutual friends wanted to attend an art university and I desperately did  _ not  _ want to be alone. Besides, he had always wanted to improve his own artistic abilities to get some sort of job in that area. He spoke of some of his pieces and some of his interest in photography, which led to talking about how much he and I had in common outside of my leadership personality and his quiet, reserved side.  _

_ I nuzzled into him gently, never wanting to be let go. _

_ A few hours of chatting later and the fire was out. Kankri and my dad had retired to their tents for the night and I could hear my dad’s soft snores and my brother’s quiet sleep playlist. Dave and I were laying down after changing into pajamas but had no intention of sleeping for quite a while. We whispered to each other, laughing under our breath and playing footsie under the blankets. _

_ “Hey, thanks for bringing me with you,” he whispered softly. His hand was on the curve of my waist and mine was on his chest. I smiled slightly, nodding. _

_ “You know how much I hate these trips when I don’t get to talk to you.” _

_ “I know. It’s really nice to get out of the house for a few days.” _

_ I shifted closer to him, moving my hand to his shoulder instead while his arm went completely around my waist to hold me securely.  _

_ “You say that a lot whenever we go out. Do you really hate it at home that much?” _

_ “Yeah, it’s pretty boring there. My bro is no fun.” He chuckled but I could sense a nervous shake and I frowned a little.  _

_ “You used to idolize him. What happened?” _

_ “Nothing, really. I just grew up and noticed some things about him that may have been a lot less cool than I originally thought, I guess.” _

_ “Somehow, I don’t believe you.” _

_ “I’m not lying, I promise.” That was sincere and I felt a bit of relief. “But in all honesty, I don’t really want to talk about him. He and I have a bit of a fucked-up past that I don’t think I’m ready to delve into just yet.” _

_ “I get that. That’s fine. You know we don’t have to talk about anything that makes you uncomfortable.” _

_ Dave’s smile returned and he kissed my nose. _

_ “Thanks, Kat. You know how much I appreciate you, right?” _

_ “You’d better. I’m the fucking best.” I beamed with exaggerated pride and he laughed again, his gorgeous red eyes sparkling with happiness and an innocent satisfaction that warmed my chest every time I noticed it.  _

_ “You’re damn fucking right you are.” _

_ I felt Dave’s arms tug me closer, a bit sharply to do it quickly, and his lips were on mine. I immediately reciprocated, my hand moving to his cheek. We both melted into each other, moving in sync far into the night while keeping as silent as the forest surrounding us. _

_ I had never loved the taste of marshmallow more than I did when it was on his tongue. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another flashback scene for you all! The last line gave me shivers but I'm happy to go stroke my own ego in the privacy of my room rather than freely on the internet. Thank you all so much for reading this! I'm absolutely loving writing this story and it makes me so happy to see you all enjoying it as well! :) (P.S. This story is 35 pages long in my Google Doc which is fucking WILD to me. I can never write fanfics that long!)


	7. You're Home

I let Dave take the seat beside me at the dinner table like he usually did whenever he was over. We held a normal dinner conversation with my family, knowing that what came next would be a bit out-of-the-ordinary and something Dave would possibly find somewhat embarrassing or even nauseating. He rarely went into his traumatic experiences with me, let alone with my dad or my brother.

The closer we came to finishing our dinner, the more I could see anxiety taking over his usually straight expression. I reached over subtly, grabbing his free hand and squeezing gently, which he returned. I could feel his fingers shaking in mine and I stroked across his knuckles gently to try to calm him down a bit. Finally, Kankri stood after we had cleared our plates. Dave had given me some of his food that he couldn’t finish and I could only imagine the nervous churning he felt deep down. 

“I’ll take care of the dishes,” he said, making his way around the table to gather our dishes to take to the kitchen. Once he was out of the room, I scoffed and rolled my eyes. 

“Is he trying to earn brownie points with you after what happened or something? I’ve never seen him do after-dinner chores without arguing with me first.”

“He’s trying to make up for what happened, yes. I won’t complain too much, though. I appreciate having one less thing to do around here.” My dad shrugged a little, then took a deep breath and leaned forward a bit with his elbows on the table. “So, Dave…”

Dave looked up from picking at a thread on his jeans and his grip on my hand tightened a little. He nodded once to show he was listening.

“How long has your home situation been the way it is?”

“Uh…” he hummed, looking back down at his lap as if he were ashamed. “I’m not really entirely sure but probably about ten years now? I lived with my mom and my sister until I was five or six but she ended up being an alcoholic, so I was sent off to my dad and my sister went to live with our Aunt Jane in Washington.”

“And your father, you’ve referred to him as your brother instead. Why is that?”

“He always told me to call him that. I never really knew why but I’m thinking maybe it’s because hitting your brother is a more acceptable thing to explain than hitting your kid.”

My dad’s frown grew and Dave’s cheeks were darkening by the minute. He absolutely  _ hated  _ talking about the negative things he had to endure at home. He was so terrified of coming off as weak and it hurt my heart to see. 

“Karkat told me that you hadn’t realized what he was doing was wrong until recently.”

“Yeah, I grew up with it so I figured it was kind of a normal thing. I didn’t think much of it until I started coming over here and seeing how clean everything was and how there was always enough food in the house and how you treated Karkat and Kankri. It was really weird to see at first. He was also the cause of that concussion I got a while back and I knew that wasn’t a normal thing parents were supposed to do.

Kankri had retired to his bedroom for the night at the request of my father, who was nodding with Dave’s words. While my dad had said it would be a family discussion, he recognized that he really didn’t need any more eyes on him for the time being.

“Do you feel safer here? Are you worried about your father attempting to find you when you’re gone for long periods of time?”

Dave released my hand and moved it to my knee, gripping tightly again. I rested my hand on top of his anyway.

“I like being here, yeah. As for him trying to find me, I don’t think he’ll really care that I’m gone for a couple of weeks at a time. He seems to only care about my whereabouts when I’m actually at home. Not that it matters anyway now that I’m eighteen.”

“Which, by the way,” I finally cut in, taking my dad’s eyes off of Dave for a moment. “The apartment is a total pigsty. I don’t know how he managed to live there for so many years but I couldn’t even walk through the place without his help to lead me through.”

“How so, Karkat?”

My father had put on his business voice for this conversation which was a little bit odd but it was not the time to point it out to him. I just ignored it the best I could and carried on. 

“Lots of trash and swords lying around. Garbage and stuff. Oh, and the fridge was full of fireworks? I didn’t see any but I’ll bet there’s probably a ton of rodents and stuff running around. It was terrifying for me.”

“Yeah, my bro is kind of a weird dude.” Dave shrugged a little. My dad shook his head.

“No, Dave. He’s abusive and unfit to raise a child.”

“He is, yeah, but I’m technically an adult now, aren’t I?”

He nodded then before taking another deep breath. Dave tightened his grip again on my knee, preparing for the worst. I knew what was coming though and tried to get him to relax.

“Dave, would you like to move in here for the time being?”

I felt him tense up and freeze, his eyebrows raised above his shades. I continued to stroke the back of his hand lovingly, turning my head to look up at him with a small smile.

“I… what? Here?”

“Yes. I wouldn’t mind letting you stay with Karkat in his room as that’s clearly a safe space for you. With you two attending school as well, it would be more of a place to rest and study and it would keep you away from a life you most certainly should not have had to experience.”

“I… Wow, I um… C-Can I ask why you’d let me stay with you all? Don’t you have enough on your plate with Kankri and Karkat?”

“Well,” my dad said with a small chuckle. “Karkat is very keen on going wherever you go, so at that point, I think you would be taking more care of him than I would. Also, Kankri is almost twenty. He has a job and a boyfriend of his own to handle, so not much would change. You and Karkat are both adults now with your own lives, and while I still have some rules around this house that everyone has to follow, you all are living on your own terms. Besides, as he has explained before and as I’ve said myself, you’re a part of this family. All of us are going to put up a fight to make sure you don’t have to go back to a home where you’re clearly not safe to reside. We want you to be safe and happy and have the tools and environment you need to be safe and secure.”

Dave fell silent and he had chosen to bite down on his bottom lip to keep himself from crying. I couldn’t imagine the emotions running through him at that very moment. Fear that he was being fucked with, relief that he was finally being cared for, a sense of security that he had never felt before, the list grows.

“I-I would love to stay.”

“Oh, good. Because I don’t think I would’ve been able to let you go back home anyway knowing what I do now.”

Both Dave and I chuckled and I could feel the emotions rising in my own chest. My dad stood from the table with a smile and we got up as well.

“I’ll go get Kankri and we’ll have some dessert and watch a movie or something, alright?”

We both could only nod, and the second he was upstairs, I threw my arms around Dave’s shoulders, not bothering to try to hold in the tears that spilled down my cheeks. His arms held me around my waist securely and I could hear small sniffling from him as well. 

“I guess you’re stuck with me,” he mumbled, laughing through tears. I nodded into his neck, smiling wide.

“Good. I don’t want to have to worry about you every second of every single day anymore.”

We didn’t let go for a minute, and when we did, Kankri had just finished coming down the stairs, looking at us. I wiped my tears away with the sleeve of my sweater, which covered the palm of my hand. Dave reached up under his glasses to do the same, big, happy grins on both of our faces. 

“So, Dave,” Kankri spoke up, causing us both to turn our heads. “You’re staying?”

“He’s moving in for a while, yeah,” I answered for him. “He’s not safe at home and that’s all you need to know.”

“I assumed as much. I’ve seen a few of the more major injuries. Dave isn’t clumsy enough to fall down twenty steps for no reason so I knew there had to have been a third party involved.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up, Kankri. You didn’t know jack shit and it’s not your place to talk about that anyway.” I glared sharply at him and he shut his mouth with a shrug. That only pissed me off further and I started to make my way around the table to hit him but Dave grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

“It’s fine, Kat. Let’s just go wait for your dad to come back.”

“No, he needs to learn to shut his stupid fucking mouth!”

“ _ Karkat _ . It’s okay, really. Come on.” 

I looked up at him before sighing and nodding, following him to the living room. I’d just get my revenge on Kankri later for being such an asshole.

Dave and I shared a blanket on the couch, two empty bowls that had once been filled with apple cobbler and ice cream now disregarded. His arm was resting over my shoulders, my dad on the far end of the opposite side of the couch and Kankri was sat in the empty space but down on the floor instead with his laptop resting on his thigh. Both he and Dave made comments about the movie that I contributed to occasionally. I glanced up at him occasionally with a growing warmth in my chest and tummy, finally being able to relax knowing that he was safe with me and my family.

After a bit, I turned, curling into his side with my arm draped loosely across his lap. A soft sigh passed my lips, my eyes fluttered shut, and I breathed him in. 

“You good?” I heard him whisper quietly, to which I only nodded. He squeezed my shoulder and planted a kiss on my head. Though we were just getting to the climax of the movie, my social battery had run out long ago and I just wanted to power off for the night and go back to my room. He had this amazing ability to sense those sorts of things from me, so he went quiet and simply held me close. If Kankri asked me something about the movie or tried to get me to talk, Dave took over instead.

When the movie did end, I was quick to get up, stretch, and grab all the bowls.

“I’m going to bed,” I muttered. “Dave?”

“Yeah, I’ll come with.” 

He stood as well and followed me to the kitchen to rinse the bowls. We both said our farewells and goodnights to my family (ours now) and made our way to the bathroom upstairs where I took my sleep meds and we brushed our teeth. We were in my room not long after.

Shutting the door and not hearing a shout from my dad to leave it open was strange and something I would most certainly have to become used to. I then turned with a heavy sigh, running a hand through the slightly messy curls on my head.

“Fuck, I don’t interact with people enough,” I muttered, my eyes landing on him. He was sitting at the edge of the bed, waiting for me to join him.

“Yeah, neither do I. I know what you mean.”

I finally went over and joined him, immediately leaning my head onto his shoulder and closing my eyes. His fingers loosely tangled with mine.

“Hey, Kat?”

“Hm?”

“Could you show me all the pictures of us you have?” I felt his thumb brush against the back of my hand. “You said you have an entire box.”

“I do, yeah.”

I let go of his hand briefly to get up and get into my closet. I returned a moment later with an old, worn-out cardboard shoebox with dull corners and tearing paper. When I opened it up, his eyes grew wide. It really was filled to the brim with photos and polaroids from over the past four years and each and every single one had at least him in it. Most of them had both of us in them.

“I… didn’t realize how many pictures you really took,” he breathed, reaching in and pulling a few out. Each photo had the date and a little note on the back, either a love note or a small description of the day and why I took the photo. The polaroids just had the date on the bottom with a heart. I shrugged a little.

“I’m a very sentimental person, you know that. I like to keep all of the memories intact.”

“No kidding.”

He was in awe as he looked at each picture individually. He saw ones from our camping trip, from a drama class we took as an elective during our freshman year of high school, from all of our lunch dates we went on during our last couple of years in high school, and any time he fell asleep on me. His cheeks burned more with each photo he pulled out where he was sleeping on my lap or my chest.

“Do you really snap a pic every time I fall asleep on you?”

“I do. It’s precious.”

“So should I be expecting a boat-load more now that we’re sharing a bed for a while?”

“Oh yeah,” I grinned. “I’m gonna have a field day with them.”

Dave groaned but I could see a smile growing on his cheeks. He continued to make his way through the box while I admired every picture he pulled out, my head on his shoulder. I was beginning to nod off to sleep when he finally pulled out my own copy of our first picture together, a simple  _ I love you  _ written in red ink on the backside of it. I felt him sigh deeply, resting his head on top of mine. I let my eyes flutter closed and leaned further into him.

“I love you, Kat.”

“I love you, too,” I mumbled very softly. Dave then began to gather up the photos, placing them all back into the box carefully. He set it down on the floor in front of the foot of the bed before helping me crawl under the covers, sleep finally beginning to take over.

I remember him opening up his texts with John with his arm around me and my head on his chest so I could hear his heart beating before I was out cold, warm and safe in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We hit 300 hits omg thank you all so much! I was watching the number go up one by one all day and it was killing me but we did it! :D I think the next chapter will be another flashback to Dave and Karkat's days in drama class, or it'll be them meeting up with friends for lunch after class and having to explain their new living situation. Either way, both chapters will happen, so let me know if you all have a preference as to which one comes first. I do have to return to work tomorrow for a few days which absolutely SUCKS, so I won't be updating daily like I've been able to so far, unfortunately. Updates will still be frequent though so don't worry! Anyways, thank you so much for reading!


	8. Busy Days

The shrill screeching of my alarm clock woke both Dave and me up at a reasonable time that still managed to feel like a personal attack. I reached across Dave’s chest blindly, hitting the snooze button a lot harder than intended. Once the sound was silenced, I settled back in against his side with a soft sigh.

“Jesus, babe,” he groaned in a barely conscious state. “Ya hit that thing harder than you’ll smack my ass. Unfair.”

“I don’t smack your ass to begin with, fucker.”

“Exactly.”

I hit his chest in response, turning to roll over in protest but his other arm that was underneath my body and around my waist tightened around me to keep me from going anywhere.

“Nope, you’re stayin’ here,” he mumbled in his thicker Texan accent. He pulled me further into him, his nose pressed firmly against the crook of his neck. I had no choice but to reach up and tangle my fingers in his soft, wavy hair. Really, what choice did I have? He was holding me hostage. I derived no joy from the action. None at all.

“Are you going to stop huffing my neck so we can get up? We have class today,” I mumbled, still having not opened my eyes. I wasn’t ready to face the light that shone in from my window. 

“We also have lunch with the group today,” he admitted, which was news to me.

“Wait, what? Since when?”

“Since last night. I texted the group chat.”

I reached over again and snatched my phone off the charger. I finally managed to open my eyes, only to squint at the twenty or so messages between Dave and the rest of our friends. By the looks of it, John would be there of course, but so would my two best friends Terezi and Gamzee, and then Jade, who I was looking forward to seeing a lot less than the others. She had been progressively more and more flirtatious towards Dave and me recently, and even if she was still a total sweetheart, it was mildly uncomfortable to handle in public. My other best friend was coming as well. Kanaya. I hadn’t seen her in ages and I was a bit excited to see her again but remained bitter about the fact that I now had other things to do with my day. I groaned and shoved my face back into his chest with more force.

“Why have you done this to me?”

“I wanted to hopefully talk to them about what’s going on. Just so that they don’t all keep trying to come to my apartment when they spontaneously want to hang out.”

I then looked up at him, my eyes growing wide. 

“You want to tell them?”

“Well…” His hand that wasn’t on my waist moved up to rub the back of his neck. “Not everything, but enough. I want them to at least know that I’m safe now. Especially John. When I told him about Bro, he went into full guardian mode and was ready to kick the shit out of him.”

“John is skinnier than you, Dave. What exactly did he expect to achieve?” I raised an eyebrow and he chuckled.

“I’m not sure. But it was endearing anyway.”

“Do you think I could beat John up?”

“Oh, yeah. I don’t doubt that you could for a single second.” 

I grinned proudly and he nudged me gently. I took the hint and stood with him to get ready for the day and for our classes. My dad had left breakfast for us in the kitchen before he left for work earlier, which we were both grateful for and I had to make Dave eat more than he had. I needed to get him plump and happy again. 

Once we were both full, we made our way to the nearest bus stop and our day truly began when he slipped his hand in mine.

Meeting our friends for lunch should’ve been more exciting than it was. I chalked it up to my still not fully recharged social battery and just put on my brave face, which was slightly more bitter than my resting face. Dave waved when we saw them at a table outside of the designated cafe we always met at. His other hand stayed in mine. Jade was held back from jumping on us by John, who waved back with the others. We joined them at the table, exchanging greetings and pleasantries, my voice quieter than the others as I shoved my nose in the confines of a menu. 

“So,” Terezi cooed. “What’s new with you two? Are you engaged yet?”

“T-Z, if we were engaged, I’d be telling you as it was happening. You know this,” Dave responded, earning a somewhat subtle disappointed glance from Jade which we both tried to ignore.

“But we are living together now,” I muttered and the table fell silent, some jaws dropped. After a moment, Gamzee, who reeked of pot, as usual, nudged me with his elbow. 

“Oh shit man, congrats. Now you  _ have  _ to get married.”

“Not how that works.”

“Wait,” Jade chirped. “How did this come about? Where are you two living?”

“I’m staying with Karkat at his house. Like, with his family.”

“Huh?” Kanaya tilted her head. “I’m sorry, you’re living with  _ every  _ Vantas? I find it hard to believe that Kankri has yet to talk you into wanting to leave.”

“The big question here is  _ why _ ?” Jade spoke up again, eyes darting between the two of us. “Did something happen that we don’t know about?”

Dave and I shared a look, communicating in silence. We knew each other so well that we never needed words to speak. We just enjoyed hearing each other’s voices.

_ Are you sure you want to explain? _

_ Yes. _

_ Should I tell them? _

_ Do you want to? _

_ It’s your story, not mine. I’m just a third party, babe. _

_ I’ll tell them then. _

“Yeah, so… basically my brother is actually my dad and he was a super not-cool dude and liked to kick my ass all the time and he gave me my concussion and I went to Karkat because he hurt me real bad and Karkat’s dad is actually my dad now and now I’m living with them because I like it there.”

There was silence other than my hands coming up to bury my face while I let out a loud groan. Dave’s cheeks slowly turned pink.

“... Huh?” John’s puzzled look was contagious around the group. I then reached blindly for Dave’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze while keeping my head in my other hand.

“I am so sorry that Dave is a fucking moron.”

“I’m so sorry that I’m a fucking moron. Yeah. Sorry. It’s been a long few days.”

“What he’s trying to say is that he’s been getting abused by his brother for a long time, but that he’s actually his dad and had just been told to call him by a sibling term instead. That concussion he got a while back was caused by him, which was when he realized what he was doing was wrong. Dave ran away a few nights ago and came to my house for help after a particularly bad night, and when my dad found out, he insisted Dave stay with us because he’s family and we’re not letting him go back to a place like that.”

There were a few understanding nods and ‘oh’s among the group.

“Well, I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we’re glad you’re safe now, Dave,” Kanaya said, earning a few more nods.

“Wait, so are you and Karkat sharing a room now?” Terezi was smirking beside me and I took my hand from Dave’s shoulder, raising an eyebrow towards her. Not that she could see it. 

“I’m not sure how that’ s relevant, but yeah. We are.”

“So much potential! Anything could happen in that room!”

As I groaned and rolled my eyes, Dave grinned as well.

“Oh, yeah. Sharing the bed, too.”

“Literally nothing has happened! Why is everything so sexual with you?” I punched his arm and while John and Jade both stuck their tongues out with disgust, the others laughed a little. 

We answered a few more questions from them before we all had to split off for our classes again. The only person I let hug me was Kanaya. She had always been incredibly comforting to be close to and if I weren’t completely in love with Dave and if I were attracted to her in any way other than emotionally, she would’ve made a great romantic partner.

As Dave and I walked to our next class, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw a notification from Kankri.

“Double… date?” I read a portion of it out loud, my tone turning up with confusion.

“Double date? With who?”

“It’s in the family group chat. Take a look.” 

Dave was quick to whip out his phone and his face lit up when he saw that my dad had added him to the group earlier that morning. He proceeded to read the long block of text from my brother, then laughed. 

“Oh my God, Kat, we have to go.”

_ I would like to ask for permission if it would be okay for me to attend a date with Cronus tonight at the same restaurant we celebrated Karkat’s sweet sixteen at. If given this permission, I would also like to extend the offer for Karkat and Dave to join us and make it a double date. While I am not fully keen on the idea of having another couple present with my significant other and me, I firmly believe that Dave and Cronus would get along fairly well and I would be very intrigued to see if my hypothesis is correct. That said, if you two choose to accept the offer, I ask that you drive, little brother. I am not comfortable behind the wheel, as you are aware, and it remains that I have yet to get my license. If you do not feel comfortable driving us all for any reason, I am sure that Cronus would be okay with driving us as well, or if you are not willing to let us borrow the car for the evening, Dad. All that said, feel free to reach out to me privately with questions if needed.  _

“What?! No  _ way  _ am I going on a double date with Kankri and Cronus! That is, quite literally, my personal hell and you know that!” 

We had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, my head tilted up to look at him. He gave me that grin that I both hated and loved at the same time.

“Aw, come on! You get to drive the car, I get to hang out with your brother’s boyfriend, and you get to have some bonding time with your sibling. Win-win-win.”

“Bonding time with my brother is the absolute last thing I need. He’ll end up giving me a fucking sermon about our sex life or something.”

“Then don’t bring up our sex life.”

“He’ll find a way to bring it up! You know this!”

He chuckled again, then stared down at me. I could picture the smug glint in his eyes and after a moment, I sighed, bringing my phone up to my nose.

_ I’ll drive if Dad says yes. Dave’s being a dick about it, so we’ll go with. _

“Have I told you lately how much I absolutely love and adore you?” Dave giggled when he saw the text pop up in his own chat before pocketing his phone and taking my free hand in his.

“Not enough for this shit. You’re lucky I love you, too,” I grumbled. He leaned down to kiss my cheek and my phone chimed again.

_ You can take my car. Just be safe. Karkat, we need to look into getting you your own. Also, be nice to your boyfriend. _

“He’s been saying that for two years now,” I mumbled. My phone was shoved into my back pocket before Dave and I took off to our next class. 

“Karkat, do you know how to get to Cronus’s house?” Kankri called from downstairs while I was in my room, tossing various shirts aside after trying them on. Dave was watching from the bed. 

“We’ll talk about that when we’re in the car! Give me a fucking second!”

“Kat, just pick something. We’re not going anywhere fancy.” Dave had one leg crossed over the other.

“Here I was thinking you were enjoying the show,” I snarled, glaring back at him. “Nothing looks good on me! Why does nothing look good on me?!”

I had been in a bit of a worse mood all day since lunch and while Dave had noticed, he assumed it was just from the social interaction or perhaps the awkward questions we were forced to endure from our friends. However, it was really starting to hit now while we were in a rush to leave. Kankri had given us very little time between coming home from school and picking up Cronus for dinner. I also had a bit of a hard time with spontaneous plans and usually needed my week worked out day-by-day, and the last few days had been nothing but spontaneous and random. Picking up another shirt and trying it on, my hands started to shake. My chest began to feel tight. 

_ Nothing is fucking working!!! _

I wanted to scream and I felt bad for being so snappy with Dave, even if he didn’t mind as it gave him a chance to be a smart ass in return. The guilt only made me tremble more. I didn’t understand what was going on, even if it had happened before. My mind was swimming with thoughts.

His eyes caught a look at my hands and he quickly stood.

“Babe, hey,” he spoke softly and gently now, leaving his phone on the bed. “Take a deep breath. You don’t need to worry about what you’re wearing. We just need to go get Cronus and head to dinner. Just a couple of minor things, okay?”

“I  _ know  _ what we need to go do and I  _ know  _ it’s minor shit!” 

My voice broke. There were the tears. 

I couldn’t look at him and my shoulders heaved with my chest, my breathing shaky and uneven. Everything ached and I thought I was going to die. I was getting close to wanting to ask my dad to take me to the hospital. Surely they could hear what was happening upstairs but if they did, they didn’t say anything outright. 

“Karkat, you’re having an anxiety attack,” Dave finally explained, coming over and placing a hand on my shoulder while glancing down at me. “You need to try to relax.”

Tears began to spill and I quickly brought my hands up to hide my face as I took deep, shuddering breaths. Each one broke in a sob.

He turned me around and pulled me into his chest, tracing circles on my back, whispering sweet nothings and instructions to control my breathing. I tried hard to listen to him but I couldn’t. I couldn’t tell if my chest was getting tighter or if it was just my heart beating out of my chest. 

Dave hadn’t known what to do when I had panic or anxiety attacks in the past, but after a few, he got the hang of it. Now he was the only one other than my dad who could calm me down. 

“Let’s sit down,” he whispered soothingly, letting go of me briefly to lead me to the bed. Once we were sat down, my head was back against his chest from the side and he rubbed up and down my arm slowly. “In for four, hold for seven, out for eight, okay? Can you do that for me?”

I nodded slightly, choking back more sobs that threatened to escape. My dad and Kankri had come up briefly to see what the commotion was and when they saw that Dave had it handled, they quickly left to give us our space. It was my own fault for leaving the door wide open.

Dave began to count the seconds for me, giving me every chance I needed when I struggled and failed the first few times. Eventually, I had it down and had finally stopped sobbing and wheezing. 

“There you go. Good job,” he cooed, moving his hand up to brush through my curls. I sniffled quietly, taking a moment to collect myself further.

“I’m sorry,” I breathed, tracing the small patterns in the denim of his jeans. “I’ve been awful to you all day. I’m sorry. I wasn’t ready for all these plans and I just-“ I had hiccups cutting me off every few seconds. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Dave-“

“Hush, baby. It’s okay, it isn’t your fault,” he kept his hushed, soothing tone, kissing the top of my head. “I’m not upset at you, don’t worry. Don’t be sorry. Everything is okay.”

“We need to go.”

“You need to take a minute to yourself. Don’t worry about anyone else right now. Focus on yourself.”

I took another deep breath and fell silent. I focused on Dave’s heart beating against my ear and the warmth of him pressed against me. I focused on the pattern in his jeans and I focused on counting the freckles that dotted his arms. I focused on him and that, in turn, helped me focus on myself. My hiccups subsided and I finally sat up, rubbing my eyes dry.

“Thank you,” I mumbled softly. “I’m sorry for blowing up like that.”

His fingers were on my chin then, tilting my head up towards his and he leaned down to take my lips in his. Everything melted away for that short moment as I kissed him back.

“Stop apologizing. You were just overwhelmed. I understand.”

“Thank you,” I said again, managing a small smile that he returned. “I need to get some cold water on my face or something. Could you wait for me downstairs or something?”

He kissed me again before standing up and pulling me to my feet with him. Fifteen minutes had passed. I hoped that Kankri had texted Cronus to let him know we would be late.

“You got it, Karkitty.”

“I hate when you call me that,” I retaliated but couldn’t bite back a smile. 

“No, you don’t.”

With that, I made my way across the hall into the bathroom while he headed downstairs.

“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” I heard Kankri’s voice echo up the stairs even though he always had a calm, quiet tone.

“He just got a bit overwhelmed,” Dave explained without going into anything too personal. “Everything’s good now.”

“Is he okay to go out tonight?” My dad then spoke up. 

“He’s cleaning up a bit now and he’ll be down in a bit. I think he’s better to go out now than he was before.”

He was right. Not hearing anything else, I assumed the conversation had stopped and my dad had returned to his television program while Dave and Kankri browsed their phones. Yet another thing they had in common. 

I got a washcloth wet and held it to my eyes for a few seconds to relieve the redness and puffy look of hardcore crying. I didn’t look like I was back to normal when I finally came downstairs but I looked better. Dave was the only one who didn’t give me a ridiculous glance when I came down, snatching my keys from the bowl by the front door. 

“Are you sure you’re okay to drive, Karkat?” My dad spoke up from the couch and I instantly rolled my eyes. “I don’t want you doing something stupid.

“I’m mentally ill, not dangerous. I won’t crash the car. I’m a better driver than you anyway.” I walked out the front door before he got the chance to say anything else. Dave and Kankri followed and unfortunately, Kankri insisted he sit in the front seat beside me so Dave and Cronus could bond in the back on our way to dinner. The concept of it made me snort, knowing that he was going to be in a world of even more stupidity and egotistical behavior the second we picked Cronus up. I was more disappointed to be stuck in the front with Kankri than anything else. 

Before I took off, Dave leaned up and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“Don’t crash the car, alright?”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes with a smile, turning my head slightly to glance at him.

“Okay,  _ Dad _ .”

“I prefer ‘daddy’.”

Kankri scoffed with disgust and I felt my stomach jump. With excitement or discomfort, I couldn’t tell, but I paid it no mind and started to reverse out of the driveway.

“In your dreams, Strider.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got almost 100 hits in one day you all are incredible, thank you SO MUCH. I am also very surprised I was able to get a chapter out today so I hope you guys like it! (P.S. I'm pretty sure this is the longest chapter I've written so far.)


	9. Intoxicated on You

_ “Dave, if you fuck up my makeup, the director might kill you before I do.”  _

_ I glared up at my boyfriend, both of us already in costume. He kept trying to poke my cheeks adoringly and even tried to sneak in for a couple of kisses that I ducked out of the way for. I wasn’t risking smearing my makeup because I fucking  _ hated  _ getting it done. Jade giggled at us and Dave leaned in for another one that I shoved his head away for instead.  _

_ “Yeah, come on, Dave. His makeup is more important than your love and affection.” _

_ “It absolutely is. Fuck off, Strider.” I growled. “You’d better get your ass ready. Go over your lines with me.” _

_ “I have my lines memorized, babe. Nothing to go over.” _

_ His smug grin made it look like he was just cocky and too reliant on his ability to act and memorize but I knew better. He and I had been practicing together over the past couple of months and had our roles down to a T. We were golden.  _

_ I then pulled him forward to straighten his tie. _

_ “Just repeat them to me. I won’t have you forgetting your lines during our scene and embarrassing me.” _

_ “And the entire drama program!” Jade crossed her arms. “It’s already embarrassing enough letting you wear your shades while in costume.” _

_ “Yeah but it’s a medical condition, so what choice do you have?” He looked over at her and she shrugged before leaving to find someone else to bother.  _

_ “Dave,” I muttered, getting his attention again. “Lines.” _

_ While I made sure his costume was on perfectly, he began reciting his lines to me with ease and perfect emotion. I had to give him credit for being an amazing actor. It was surprising, really. He was a man of natural talent apparently. _

_ “We’re on in five,” our director called into the dressing room. “Make sure you all go over your parts one last time!” _

_ I had glanced over at the door and let out one shuddering sigh. Dave grabbed me by my shoulders gently to make me look at him and my heart jumped happily. We had only been together for five months, so the simple touches got to me.  _

_ “Relax, Kat.” He smiled a bit. “You’ll do great. Remember, just picture the audience in their underwear.” _

_ “That’s a bullshit saying and you know it.” _

_ He chuckled and nodded, squeezing gently.  _

_ “Yeah, I know. But seriously, you’ll do great. Besides, it’s a freshman high school program. People’s expectations are low and you’re a good actor. Plus I’ll be on stage with you and I will happily embarrass myself before I let you get all overwhelmed.” _

_ “You’re sweet,” I sighed, finally smiling up at him. He returned it and leaned down. _

_ I didn’t duck out of the way that time. _

_ It was over way faster than any of us had expected and I was grateful for that. My heart was pounding out of my chest the entire time and it was getting to the point of being too overwhelming. I felt Jade’s hand in mine and another one of the actors I hadn’t really interacted much with over the course of the play. Dave was on the other end, having been offstage during the final act, and we all bowed together as the expected cheers and claps rose from the crowd. I saw my dad and my brother in the crowd but I didn’t see Dave’s guardian who I knew I would recognize the second I saw him. Dave said he had angular shades and he was impossible to miss. I was either overlooking him or he wasn’t there to support him, which was my guess. The two didn’t seem mutually close. _

_ But Dave didn’t look upset or disappointed, though his emotions were always pretty well hidden behind his shades. It was always hard for me to be able to tell what he was thinking or feeling. Eventually, the curtains closed and we all went our separate ways, most people getting ready to go to an afterparty at some rich kid’s house. There was always one kid that threw some sort of party and it was always a stuck-up asshole that Dave and I hated.  _

_ I turned to go gather my things but I felt arms around me from behind, lifting my feet off the floor. I immediately squeaked with surprise. _

_ “Dave!” I gasped, my hands pushing at his arms. “Put me down!” _

_ “Nope.” _

_ “Daaave!” I whined then. I could hear Jade laughing from the other end of the stage and before I could wiggle out of his grasp, he was carrying me over to her. I continued to protest until I realized he really wasn’t going to put me down. I went limp in his arms with a loud, exasperated sigh. _

_ “Are you two going to come to the afterparty?” Jade smiled up at us.  _

_ “I hate social interaction and I hate you, too.” I poked his arm and I heard him chuckle. “So no fucking way.” _

_ “No, come on! The parties are fun but seriously, you two would bring so much more to the party!” She pleaded a bit. _

_ “It could be fun.” _

_ Dave’s answer caught me off guard and I turned my head to look at him. His chin was on my shoulder and when my eyes met his, he set me down.  _

_ “Since when do you like parties?” _

_ “I don’t but you and I could just sit in a corner and people-watch. I don’t really feel like going home anyway.” He shrugged and I sighed.  _

_ “As long as you don’t leave halfway through, I… guess it would be alright.” _

_ “So you’ll come?” Jade lit up, green eyes sparkling with excitement. My expression turned bitter again as I turned to face her.  _

_ “I’ll text my family and let them know.” _

_ “Yes!” She pumped her fist in the air and gave us both a big, happy smooch on the cheek, which I quickly rubbed away with my sleeve. “Go get changed and get your makeup off and I’ll walk with you guys there! It’s not far and it’ll be a blast, I promise!” _

_ And she took off to the dressing rooms again. I looked up at Dave, shooting him a glare. _

_ “I  _ cannot  _ believe that I let you talk me into this.” _

_ “You just like me that much, don’t you?” _

_ “Can it, Strider.” _

_ I kept my hand tight in his, our fingers laced as we approached the house. It was like a fucking mansion but by the looks of it, half the school was there and it was filled to the brim with drunk, horny teenagers. I scrunched up my nose in disgust. _

_ “I can practically smell the hormones from here,” I muttered before we even walked up the driveway. Dave laughed a bit and Jade turned to face us briefly. _

_ “Hey, I’m going to go try to find my… uh, friend.” _

_ I raised an eyebrow at her tone but she was inside before I got to ask. I looked to Dave for an answer but he simply shrugged and led me inside with him.  _

_ It  _ reeked  _ of booze and we had a hard time navigating through the sea of teenagers, some of which stopped us to say hello. We remained uninterested and found our way to the kitchen which was a little bit quieter. It was already littered with cans and bottles and red cups. I hated it more than anything. I hopped up onto a clean part of the countertop, crossing my legs. It didn’t matter if my shoes were on the counter at this point. The cleaning problem would be the hundreds of bottles, not some dirt. _

_ “Do you care if I have a beer?” _

_ I looked up at Dave who was eyeing a bottle. I raised an eyebrow, tilting my head. _

_ “No. Why would I?” _

_ “Some people are opposed to their partner drinking. I just wanted to make sure.” _

_ “You can do what you want, Dave. I don’t care. Since when do you drink? You’re fifteen.” _

_ He grabbed a bottle and popped the cap off with one of his keys. He shrugged. _

_ “I don’t. Not really, anyway. It’s pretty rare that I’m able to snag a drink at all so if it’s available, I’ll just kinda go for it.” _

_ I nodded with understanding. He came over and leaned on the counter beside me, taking a swig of it. I pulled out my phone, scrolling through my social media page mindlessly. After a bit, he reached over and pulled my head onto his shoulder, kissing the top of my hair. I didn’t seem to react but inwardly, my heart was racing and I was biting back a huge smile. I kept my head there, continuing to scroll. I could smell the alcohol he drank but he still smelled like himself, so I didn’t mind so much.  _

_ “Wanna go watch a bunch of teenagers ruin their relationships by being drunken whores?” His fingers that had been running through my hair stopped briefly and I turned to look up at him. I smiled slightly. _

_ “I’d love to.” _

_ We found a clear spot against the wall we could sit against. He had a new beer in hand and was cracking jokes with me as we watched a ton of people we were acquaintances with losing themselves in the alcohol, grinding against people they had shown interest in in the past and becoming entirely new people. While I was grateful that Dave was nothing like them, I could tell that it was starting to get to his head just a little. I found it more endearing, though. He was nuzzling into my neck while making small quips about what would happen to these “couples” after the booze left their system and they were able to rationalize again.  _

_ “Shit, by the looks of it, I’m the only sober one here,” I mumbled. Dave huffed a small laugh, kissing my shoulder through my shirt. _

_ “Yeah, seems that way. You wanna be the designated driver for all of us?” _

_ “I don’t even have my license, and if I did, I’m not gonna risk getting puked on by a bunch of mentally unstable drunk kids.” _

_ “I’m a mentally unstable drunk kid and you’re letting me lay on you.” _

_ “You’re tipsy, not completely wasted. I’m not that worried about you.” _

_ “Plus I know my boundaries.” _

_ “Yeah, that, too.” _

_ I then moved my arm around his shoulders so he could shift closer to me. His warmth helped my anxiety fade away and I felt okay for a moment. Despite the loud music and thumping of the drunken dancers around us. I leaned in, my nose in his hair, breathing in gently. I was completely in love with him, that I knew, but I still was afraid to say it. I was left unsure of his own feelings, even if it was painfully obvious that he felt the same. We were taking things somewhat slowly which took an amount of self-control that left me aching. I loved him, though. More than anything. _

_ His scent made me feel safe and happy among the uncomfortable scene of teens that I hated. I didn’t even want to imagine what the hell was going on upstairs. I then remembered. _

_ “Hey, I didn’t see your brother in the crowd today.” _

_ I felt him tense up a little and before I could question it, he took a long swig from his bottle of liquid courage. _

_ “He wasn’t there,” he finally said, not making any sort of eye contact with me. “Didn’t come.” _

_ “Why wouldn’t he be there?” _

_ “I never told him I was performing.” _

_ My heart ached for a reason I couldn’t explain. It wasn’t my business. Whatever relationship he and his brother had wasn’t anything that involved me and I knew that I should’ve just left it alone, but I didn’t. I continued to pry. _

_ “Why didn’t you tell him? Is everything okay?” _

_ “Everything’s fine.” _

_ “Dave, you can talk to me, you know.” _

_ “I know.” _

_ His short answers made my chest hurt a little more. Had I pissed him off? Was he pissed in general? Or was this his way of just saying he didn’t want to talk about it right at that moment? My questions were answered. _

_ “It’s not anything bad. I just don’t think he would enjoy sitting in a crowd of parents watching a half-assed play he could watch professionally performed on YouTube or something. I didn’t find it necessary to tell him about it, is all. Plus I like my time away from him. Sorry, I know it probably sounds like I’m pissed. I am but not at you or anything. Just in general.” _

_ “Can… Can I ask why you’re mad?” _

_ He took a deep breath and sat up a bit. I kept my arms around his shoulders as he finally looked at me through his shades, finished what was left in his bottle, then set it aside.  _

_ “I’m pissed because… he’s gotten so much more unpredictable lately. Our relationship used to be really strong and I really loved him but now he’s so distant and it’s so hard to please him that I just want to give up. And I have, kind of. I don’t tell him when I do something I think is worth celebrating. I tell you instead, and it shouldn’t be up to you to celebrate accomplishments of mine that you can do yourself. I want to be able to tell my family but I can’t talk to my mom and my sister and I haven’t talked in years and… I don’t know. It feels like I don’t really have a parental figure. To a bunch of these kids who are going to have to feel the wrath of their family in the morning when they have massive hangovers, that would seem like a dream. But… it feels lonely, I guess.” _

_ I stared at him, blinking a few times and trying to process everything he had just told me. I didn’t know what to say for a moment there.  _

_ He wanted someone to be proud of him. To celebrate his accomplishments. To be a good figure in his life to look up to. I knew that I couldn’t be that figure in his life. Not properly, anyway. My relationship with him was far too personal to recreate something like that for him. But I could make him feel proud. I could and had in a way, considering he only came to me. I had never heard him open up like that before. _

_ I then grabbed his cheeks, stroking them with my thumbs. _

_ “My dad told me to tell you that he thinks you were fucking incredible today,” I admitted, forgetting about that text until just then. “I’m not just saying that, too. I can show you the text. But Kankri thought so, too. And so did I. There are people in this world who are proud of you and who you are, okay? I can imagine that it hurts to lose someone emotionally like that but trust me when I say that you don’t need him. If he’s going to treat you like something you aren’t, then fuck him. You’ve got me and my family now. We’re all proud of you. You don’t need him.” _

_ He fell silent for a moment and I could feel our eyes locked from behind his shades. I was a bit surprised when he took them off suddenly and set them carefully on his lap before slipping his hand behind my neck and pulling me in, our lips meeting. _

_ I could taste the alcohol on his tongue but it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. I felt drunk in my own way, kissing him like he was my world.  _

_ He was. _

_ “Have I told you how much I fucking love you?” His hushed whisper against my lips made me shiver and I froze for a moment. That did me in. That was all I wanted to hear from him for a long time now.  _

_ My eyes met his red ones and my hands, still on his cheeks, pulled him in again with more passion and more force. I didn’t care what we did in front of everyone around us. They were too wasted to remember anything in a few hours anyway. _

_ “I love you, too,” I mumbled between kisses. “Love you so much…” _

_ His hand found my hip and we ended up joining the sea of drunken teenagers. It was a night we would both remember no matter how intoxicated he was on the booze and how intoxicated I was on him. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE HIT 400 THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH I LOVE YOU YOU'RE THE BEST


	10. Please Don't Leave

Kankri shot Cronus a quick text to let him know that we were outside after I had parked right in front and I pulled out my phone as I waited. Even though we were fifteen minutes late, I knew very well that Cronus wouldn’t be out for another ten. He was like Dave in that sense.

_ Shit. Maybe they would get along. _

“So,” Dave leaned forward, arms resting behind my headrest. We both turned our heads to look at him. “Cronus has a pretty strong personality, doesn’t he?”

I huffed a laugh and rolled my eyes, turning back to my phone. “You could say that.”

“And what exactly does that mean, Karkat?” I could feel Kankri staring daggers into my face. 

“Nothing. You and him will get along fine, Dave.”

“I don’t doubt it. The Strider charms work beautifully.”

“You most definitely are  _ not  _ his type,” he said, looking back at Dave again with a raised eyebrow. I wanted to laugh. I would’ve if I weren’t so emotionally exhausted.

“I’m not exactly Karkat’s type either, but here we are. Three years strong.”

“Yeah, you just got lucky, dipshit,” I growled with a hint of adoration in my tone. Dave sensed it and smiled. 

“Besides, from the few interactions I’ve had with Cronus, you don’t seem much like his type.”

“Dude, Kankri is literally nobody’s type,” I smirked before he hit me upside the head, then crossed his arms.

“You may be the driver, but I am still the older brother and you will respect me.”

“You’re two years older! What the hell does that count for?” I went to smack him back and, like before, Dave stopped me, grabbing my wrist. 

“Kat, chill. Jesus, I’m the one who spent the last ten years doing nothing but physically fighting my brother and  _ I’m  _ the one who has to stop you two from completely gouging out each other’s eyes.”

“I’m going fucking crazy, I swear.”

“Hey babes,” another voice chimed in and I immediately groaned, leaning my head back. I actually liked Cronus but I pretended to hate everybody. Anyone worth keeping in my life recognized that I actually liked them and he was actually one of those people. He treated my brother well and was a nice guy overall. He sat in the back with Dave and leaned up, giving my brother a kiss on the cheek. When Kankri’s face turned pink, I wanted to yark. “Sorry I took a while longer than expected. My mom wouldn’t let me leave.”

“Are you okay?” Kankri turned to glance back at him and he quickly nodded with a chuckle. 

“Oh yeah, all good. She was drinkin’, so it wasn’t unexpected. We gonna head out?”

I started up the engine again and took off towards the restaurant while he and Dave exchanged pleasantries. The two of them had met in the past but only in passing, usually when he and I were on the couch together and Cronus and Kankri were together or leaving the house. Otherwise, they had never sat down and had a proper conversation. 

Finally, I pulled up to the restaurant and parked. Part of me was nervous that Dave and Cronus would head up on their own and leave me alone with my brother but Dave came around and took my hand as we headed inside. I was so grateful for the touch as my anxiety was still incredibly high and I felt a little sick to my stomach. 

I let Kankri handle talking to the hostess, who led us to a booth near the very center of the building. I only grew to be more bitter as we were surrounded by noise.

_ If I have another fucking anxiety attack, I will throw my shoe at the nearest crying child. _

I sat closest to the wall with Dave beside me as he continued chatting it up with Cronus. Kankri, seeing I was in no mood to converse, joined in with them, leaning in to hug his boyfriend’s arm. I snacked lazily on a breadstick as I listened to them, hardly paying any attention.

I wasn’t able to finish my food and neither was Dave, so we packed it all into a box as we waited for our check to come. I leaned into his side, groaning like a beached whale. He leaned into me in a very similar state. 

“I ate way too fucking much,” I mumbled and he nodded against my head.

“Me, too. And we have to walk upstairs to get back to the bedroom.”

“Oh God, don’t say that. I might puke.”

“If you feel nauseated, perhaps it’s best I don’t tell you the reason for taking you out to dinner,” Kankri said, immediately making my chest leap with anxiety. I immediately sat completely upright, looking over at the two of them. My stare was sharp.

“There was a reason?”

“I don’t know if Karkat can take any more surprises today,” Dave trailed off a bit but I reached over, a finger to his lips.

“Talk.”

Kankri and Cronus both looked at each other with slight smiles and I felt my heart racing. Whatever it was, it was causing them to communicate silently like Dave and I sometimes did and it was slowly coming together in my own head. 

_ No. They’re not. _

Kankri then held up his left hand, and sure enough, there sat a fashionable black band with a small diamond in the center. Everything inside of me broke and I didn’t know what to feel. Dave’s own eyes were wide and I could tell that he also didn’t know what to make of the situation. He didn’t know Cronus well enough and he knew that my brother was horribly impulsive, something he struggled with himself. 

“We’re engaged.”

“You’re… nineteen…” I practically whispered after a moment of silence. “Does Dad know? You two have been together, what? A year? A year and a half?”  
“The time we’ve been in a romantic relationship together doesn’t seem relevant right now. It’s already been done.”

“Dave and I have been together for four years!”

“So? That’s your relationship, not mine.” Kankri’s eyes showed anger. Actual anger. I wanted to burst.

“Hey, Kat,” Dave reached over, a hand on my shoulder before I could say something I’d regret. “He’s right about that. What’s right for us isn’t necessarily right for them.”

“Okay,” I huffed. “Fine. But what about Dad? You still live in our house.”

“That’s… the other thing.” Kankri then reached up, rubbing the back of his neck. “We have yet to talk to our father about this but… Cronus and I found an apartment. It’s in another city but it’s cheap and decent and I’m going to get a job out there.”

“You’re  _ moving?! _ ”

We all fell silent then. There was too much happening and too much to unpack. I wasn’t angry that he was moving but…

No, who was I kidding? I was  _ pissed  _ that he was moving. 

He and I fought constantly. I hated him with my whole being. He enraged me constantly and I always wanted nothing more than to fight him. But he was my best fucking friend. He always had been. When I was little and afraid of the tropical storms, he would let me crawl into bed with him. When I was in middle school and Dave had pissed me off beyond belief by being a smug asshole, he would listen to me rant because it was the most passionate about something I would get. And when I finally started dating him, Kankri would partake in some of my photography projects, helping me make little albums and figure out the dates of some of the unlabeled photos. To that day, I still would sneak out of my room and convince him to come with me to take our dad’s car to go get shitty food in the middle of the night for fun. Before Dave, he was the only one to watch romcoms with me. I wanted him to go away sometimes but I wanted him to stay. With me and our family. 

_ I didn’t want him to go. _

Our check was brought to us during a pretty tense moment between us all. Cronus paid as he was the only one of us who had a job and he could afford it. Once we were all paid for and everything was done, we left in silence. Dave sat in the front seat with me this time.

“Cronus is coming back with us,” Kankri said once we were all back in the car. “You can just head straight home.”

I said nothing as I pulled out of the parking lot. The tension in the car was heavy and uncomfortable for the three of them while I was too angry and lost in my thoughts to care. Dave reached over a bit into the drive back, his hand on my thigh. He gave a gentle, reassuring squeeze and I gave zero reaction. He kept his hand there however and it did help me focus a little more on getting us home safely. 

Kankri and Cronus were the first ones out of the car and into the house after stopping to ask me not to say anything to our dad. Again, I stayed silent.

Dave brought me upstairs, far behind Cronus and Kankri who were headed to his bedroom, and into our room where I sat down on my bed with a heavy sigh, burying my face in my palms. He shut the door silently behind him, muting the snoring of my father from his open bedroom door. 

“Karkat?”

Nothing. I kept my face in my hands.

“Honey, hey.” I felt the bed dip down beside me and then felt his hand on my thigh again. “Are you okay?”

“He’s leaving,” I breathed like I was only now realizing it. “He’s actually going to fucking leave.”

“That’s his prerogative, baby. There isn’t much we can do to stop him.”

“I  _ know _ ,” I whispered again. I wasn’t crying. I had no tears left to cry after my attack earlier. After a moment of wallowing in my own pity party, I let my arms fall down to rest on my knees.

“Is there anything I can do, Kat?”

_ How is he so patient with me? _

“Actually, there might be.” 

I sat up on my knees then after kicking my shoes off. Before he could question me, I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, yanking him in. I felt him smile a little and I slowly began to pull him back onto the bed. 

_ Yeah. This helps. _

“What’s this?” He hovered above me now, my fists still balled up in his shirt. “Karkat asking for something scandalous? Absolutely unheard of. Someone start taking notes. This needs to go to the press.”

“Dave, I am one more stupid sentence away from rolling over and going right to bed.” My worries melted away, however. I was smiling like an idiot.

“Okay, okay. Zipping my lips. No more stupid shit from me.” 

_ Good. _

“Then come here, idiot.”

I felt gross in the morning. Not sticky or sweaty like I had last night but I ached and knew that moving would be a challenge. The sunlight that hit my eyes and woke me up was more than a simple annoyance and I wanted to fight the sun but… my head felt so much clearer.

_ Huh. _

Dave had most certainly helped. Looking over at him now, my heart swelled with love. 

He had his arm draped over my waist loosely from behind, curled up with the shape of my body. Half of his face was buried comfortably in the pillow and his hair was a bit of a mess. There were a few little bites scattered across his pale skin, trailing down his neck and shoulders, that were a good reminder of what had happened. Looking at them made me blush but I also yearned to leave more. 

No.

I had things to do.

I turned my head back to kiss his forehead gently. He shifted a little from the contact and a little smile spread across his cheeks. I then slipped out from under his arm, careful not to wake him, moving swiftly and quietly to grab a clean pair of boxers and (specifically) a loose turtleneck sweater. I needed it more than he would when he woke up. I then snatched my towel off the hanger on the back of the door. When I opened it, however, Kankri was passing by and we made brief and slightly awkward eye contact. I was grateful that I had half a mind to fall asleep in a t-shirt and some boxers, something I would normally walk around the house in.

“You should hide those before Dad sees,” he said, gesturing to my neck. “He’ll get a hernia if he sees what Dave did.”

“Nothing he hasn’t seen before. I’ve got it handled, thanks.” I rolled my eyes a little, shutting the door behind me to let Dave keep sleeping while I took over the bathroom for a quick shower. The interaction lingered in my mind as I stood under the steam, however. Not because it was weird and he was pointing out the prominence of the marks littered across my neck and my collarbone, but because it was Kankri. My brother who was now engaged and moving out and oh my  _ God _ , we’re  _ adults _ . 

I needed to apologize. I knew that.

With a clear head, I knew that I needed to apologize. I knew, I knew, I  _ knew _ .

I finished up quickly and got dressed, going right back to the bedroom when I realized I had forgotten actual pants of some kind. I rummaged through the top drawer of my dresser as quietly as I could and jumped when I heard an accent back at my bed.

“You good over there?”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Dave,” I breathed, a hand on my chest. “I forgot you were here.”

“Mhm, I see that,” he hummed, leaning up on one elbow. “You’re mumbling to yourself. What’s on your mind?”

“I’m just… practicing, I guess. Trying to find the right words to say.”

“To Kankri?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“I was going to wait to tell you that you needed to apologize to him when I knew you wouldn’t try to rip my tongue out or something.” He shrugged a bit. “I’m glad you’re doing it on your own.”

“I fucked up,” I said with a sigh, pulling on a loose pair of pajama pants. I looked cozy as all hell in my sweater and fluffy pants and it was comforting. “I know I fucked up.”

“It’s alright, that shit happens. Just tell him you’re sorry and that you’ll support him no matter what.”

“How do you know that’ll work? I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to punch me on sight for revenge or something.”

“I know it’ll work because it’s exactly what I’ve done with you. And I fucking meant it, so you need to, too.” He smiled encouragingly. “So go talk to him. I’ll wait here if shit goes sideways and you need to come chill again.”

“No, you’ll wait here because you don’t want to get out of bed.”

“You know me too fucking well.”

I snickered quietly and went over to kiss him softly before making my way downstairs, again closing the door behind me. I wasn’t about to let my dad, who was still getting dressed for work in his room, see the marks I left all over Dave, and not just the bites. 

Kankri was sat at the dining room table, phone glowing faintly in his hand as he stared down at it and sipped on some tea he had made. It was way too fucking early for me to be getting up but I felt refreshed after last night and was okay with naturally waking up at an ungodly hour. Just this once. Besides, it gave me an excuse to nap with Dave on the couch later. I cleared my throat to make my presence known. His head tilted up to look at me and I took a seat across from him, running a hand through my wet curls nervously.

“Could we talk about last night?”

He paused for a moment, not used to the situation where I actually asked to talk to him, so he turned off his screen and set it to the side, eyes meeting mine as he sipped once more on his tea.

“I’d like that, yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you all so much for the support. Also, two chapters in one day! :o I wrote about 10 pages worth of writing just today!

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if I should make this a multiple-part story. I am stuck between wanting to make it longer and also leaving it the way it is, but I have other ideas for it so please let me know. Also, I have a bunch of Davekat one-shots on my page, so if you enjoyed this one, feel free to check them out! I've compiled them all into one work as well so you can look at each one individually or all together. Thank you so much for reading! :D
> 
> (Edit: You all are so sweet oh my gOD. Yes, this will now be multiple parts and I am actually going to submit this for a college program at school (I'm going to make changes to the characters and such to make it more my own of course), but thank you all so much. I'm sorry I couldn't get the pesterlogs to be color-coded. They are in my google doc, but it won't transfer here! :( )


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